http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB1 ... nteractive (http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702303983904579095731139251304-lMyQjAxMTAzMDIwNTEyNDUyWj.html?mod=wsj_valettop_email#project=EXCHANGES0924&articleTabs=interactive)
QuoteCompare insurance premiums for the lowest-cost 'bronze' plan for a 27-year-old single person with the current lowest-cost option for a man in a metro area in 36 states where the federal government will oversee exchanges. Some people may be eligible for subsidies towards the cost of coverage.
So costs are going up so much that subsidies may be required for some to afford health care. Where the hell is THAT money coming from? The printing presses?
QuoteThey will have to treat customers equally, with limited variation in premiums based on buyers' ages or whether they smoke.
How is that "equality"? Smoking is a choice, and one that has serious health implications. Someone who does not smoke should not be forced to cover the increase in premiums of someone who does. That's like saying that auto insurance companies can't treat people "unequally" by charging higher premiums to people who drive drunk.
There is a health care problem in this country but this does LESS THAN NOTHING to solve that problem. The problem isn't the cost of insurance, but the cost of the medical care itself. Medical bills are the #1 cause of bankruptcy. Easy to understand when you consider the astronomical price of taking an ambulance in this country.
Just another example of our government taking about as much effort to solve significant problems in this country as a child who stuffs all his shit in the closet or under his bed to clean his room.
Smoking is actually a very small part of this overall. According to the CDC, it costs about $8.7 billion a year to deal with.
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statist ... ast_facts/ (http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/)
While the overall health expenses per year are about $2.7 trillion.(Both 2011 figures)
http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics- ... lights.pdf (http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/highlights.pdf)
In other words, its relative chump change and you're barking up the wrong tree.
If you want to make a serious difference in our finances re: health care, do something about seniors and their related social programs, like Medicare and Social Security, neither of which even bother with means testing and tend to pay beneficiaries much more than they paid in. And this doesn't even take into account the larger number of Boomers as compared with younger generations.
SS shortfalls:
https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/social-security/ (https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/social-security/)
Medicare shortfalls:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/trustees- ... le/2530908 (http://washingtonexaminer.com/trustees-say-long-run-medicare-social-security-deficit-is-66-trillion/article/2530908)
I never stated that smoking was the sole cause of the difference in premiums. I stated that it is a factor that the individual has a choice on, and insurance companies should be allowed to reward those who make better choices. I would not suggest that someone should have to pay higher premiums because of a genetic predisposition to a condition.
Secondly, those programs are part of the problem of why health care is so expensive. But I would argue that this is only ONE reason among MANY that those programs need to be heavily reformed. Part of the reason that can't be touched is it is viewed as political suicide, which stems from yet a deeper rooted problem of the longevity of political careers. Political careers at the federal level should be like the lives of flies, not tortoises. They're all full of shit anyhow.
Quote from: "The Whit"Secondly, those programs are part of the problem of why health care is so expensive. But I would argue that this is only ONE reason among MANY that those programs need to be heavily reformed. Part of the reason that can't be touched is it is viewed as political suicide, which stems from yet a deeper rooted problem of the longevity of political careers. Political careers at the federal level should be like the lives of flies, not tortoises. They're all full of shit anyhow.
This really does come down to the heart of the problem, but there's another angle. Not many people realize how absurdly profitable the hospital and related industries are. Warning: This article will seriously piss you off.
http://www.uta.edu/faculty/story/2311/M ... dGreed.pdf (http://www.uta.edu/faculty/story/2311/Misc/2013,2,26,MedicalCostsDemandAndGreed.pdf)
Somehow in Europe, where they're not afraid to limit profits, health care doesn't seem to be as much of a problem. But in the US, where you combine a powerful seniors lobby with the ultimate sellers market for health care...