Health Care More Important Than Terror

[Adam D]

Health Premiums, Not Terror, Worry Public
2 hours, 17 minutes ago


By Kim Dixon

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Politicians take note: Americans fret more about the soaring cost of health insurance than being a victim of a terror attack, according to a poll released on Tuesday.


The survey, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit research group, also shows that health-care premiums are climbing at their highest rate in more than a decade, driven by steep prescription drug costs, pricey new medical technology and insurers' profit gains.


Monthly premiums for employer-sponsored health care in the United States jumped by 13.9 percent between spring 2002 and 2003, the sharpest spike since 1990, according to the study. And there is no let-up in sight, according to analysts.


"We should expect to see rates of increase that far outpace everything else, including profits," said Jon Gabel, vice president at the Health Research Educational Trust, which helped run the survey.


The results provide a "perfect snapshot of our national schizophrenia about health care," said Gerald Shea, government affairs analyst at the AFL-CIO umbrella union. There is a "pretty broad consensus that this is unsustainable," he said. "We can't have health inflation at five times the rate of inflation, it's going to break the bank."


The poll found that 33 percent of the insured worry that their income might not keep up with health premiums, while just 8 percent said they fear being a victim of a terror attack.


Spending on health care is set to hit 17.7 percent of U.S. gross domestic product by 2012, up from 14.1 percent in 2001, according to government estimates.


WORKERS FEEL PINCH, COMPANIES SHOP AROUND


Tussles over rising health-care costs are at the center of many labor talks between U.S. employers and workers, including Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - news) and the Big Three automakers.


And as the baby boom generation retires, the numbers of people on the U.S. retirement health program Medicare will swell. That's fueling a congressional debate about adding prescription drugs to Medicare, which now covers 41 million elderly and disabled.


Workers are feeling the pinch. Costs paid by workers out of their own pockets for prescription drugs and doctor visits jumped by at least 50 percent in just the last three years, the report found.


Another key finding: 62 percent of companies are shopping around to find a better health-insurance deal.


HMO PROFITS


Premiums are rising a bit less rapidly at big companies that take on the risk of health insurance themselves, so-called self-insured employers like General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE - news)


This suggests that part of the rise in health-care premiums can be linked to HMOs' expanding profit gains, experts said.


To be sure, nearly every publicly traded HMO posted record profits in recent quarters, as they keep raising premiums to cope with underlying cost drivers: prescription drugs, hospital and doctor fees.


But it's inaccurate to cast HMOs as villains because they are just playing "catch-up" from an earlier period when premiums trailed cost increases, said Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation.





When HMOs start moving into new markets, or compete by seeking new members, premiums could begin to decline, experts said. But they added there is no sign of that yet.

The poll results were based on a telephone survey of 1,800 companies, taken from January to May.

[Ash]

Healthcare is nightmare especially when you have a family. I'm reluctant to even use it when I really have to because I'm afraid something won't be covered that was listed in the 1000+ page manual you get with your coverage. Try getting a referral or submitting a claim. Talk about your terror.

[Adam D]

Thank you private health care.

[Dow Jones]

"And as the baby boom generation retires, the numbers of people on the U.S. retirement health program Medicare will swell. That's fueling a congressional debate about adding prescription drugs to Medicare, which now covers 41 million elderly and disabled."


I would like a general idea about how much a prescription benefit for 41 milion people would cost. Who is going to pay for that?

Originally posted by virus
I would like a general idea about how much a prescription benefit for 41 milion people would cost. Who is going to pay for that?

Perhaps we could take a little out of the 400 Billion dollars the military is contributing to the 600 Billion dollar deficit in 2004.

[Dow Jones]

Originally posted by designbydance
Perhaps we could take a little out of the 400 Billion dollars the military is contributing to the 600 Billion dollar deficit in 2004.

Or we could realise that it is not the governments job to provide you and I with prescription medicines. As for the military I enjoy feeling safe in this country and have no problem helping out with the bill.

We have the largest tax base in the world. Our government has the money to provide us with an amazing amount of social services, from free college to free medicine, and all the military power George W. wants, without raising taxes. The problem? Mismanagement of funding and too many redundant governmental employees.

But the fact is, George W. is fucking proud of spending 1.5 Billion on improving education last year, meanwhile he is spending 4 billion a month in fucking Iraq. Oh and guess what. . .there were no weapons of mass destruction.

Oh, I agree, Saddamm was a bad guy. But if that was our only reason for taking him out. . .well. . .one dictator down, 700 more to go. We are not the worlds fucking police. That's one of the reasons they hate us, because we think we are. . .




No hard feelings. I don't usually get this worked up. Its all rhetoric anyway. That's what is really so exhausting to me about current affairs of late. . .both sides have retreated into their rhetoric, and nothing constructive is getting done.

[Adam D]

Originally posted by virus
Or we could realise that it is not the governments job to provide you and I with prescription medicines. As for the military I enjoy feeling safe in this country and have no problem helping out with the bill.

There's safety and security, and then there's overkill. The US spends more on defense than the next top 20 defense spenders in the world combined. Annually, the US spends enough on defense to cover $20,000 for every hour since Jesus was born. I forget the exact percentage, but it's less than 5%, of one year's defense budget would solve poverty worldwide. It's not even as though the money is being spent on upkeep and military payroll. A large percentage of that spending goes to select firms to design new ways to blow shit up. Most of which, like BMD, has billions allocated annually with no positive results. It's mostly a way of funnelling tax dollars into private hands.

Washington wastes hundreds of billions annually on the military-industrial complex while it ignores and defunds education other key infrastructure programs. What's the point of defending yourself from external threats when you're not putting worth into what's being defended?

Word to the brotha in the back. .

[Adam D]

Originally posted by designbydance
But the fact is, George W. is fucking proud of spending 1.5 Billion on improving education last year, meanwhile he is spending 4 billion a month in fucking Iraq. Oh and guess what. . .there were no weapons of mass destruction.

Don't forget that not only was the education budget cut, but what was left for the states were sent as block grants which means the states were not obligated to spend the money on education (and many did not, as they had other budget gaps to fill).