- the Affordable Care Act subsidizes American health insurance with tax payer funds by covering much of the cost of insurance
- Health insurance companies are required by law to spend 85% of that revenue on healthcare
- Health insurance companies, logically, acquire providers. Thus, the 85% of their spending on healthcare is just funneled into the other companies that they own
The system is currently the worst of both worlds. We have tax payer funds going straight to for-profit entities which have become vertically integrated throughout every aspect of the American healthcare system.
Within the context of the current system it’s still better than being denied insurance due to pre-existing conditions.
What the author ignores re: the shooting is that United Healthcare is particularly bad compared to other insurance companies. I’ve had multiple instances of them denying a first choice drug without explanation despite doctor’s write ups. Doctors are always on the edge and saying things like “if the insurance approves.”
What is the point of going to medical school/residency/fellowship/etc if at the end of the day the insurance is making medical decisions?
From the blog:
> If insurers were so good at extracting money from the system, why are they so unprofitable?
Maybe their unprofitability is driving them to find new ways to extract money?
For healthcare I don’t understand the need for profit except for the researchers and companies who directly had a role in discovering and manufacturing the product (and funding trials).
Why do we even need insurance companies if we actually trusted doctors to make the right decisions?
- the Affordable Care Act subsidizes American health insurance with tax payer funds by covering much of the cost of insurance
- Health insurance companies are required by law to spend 85% of that revenue on healthcare
- Health insurance companies, logically, acquire providers. Thus, the 85% of their spending on healthcare is just funneled into the other companies that they own
The system is currently the worst of both worlds. We have tax payer funds going straight to for-profit entities which have become vertically integrated throughout every aspect of the American healthcare system.