An interesting argument
from Forbes. Excerpts:
...[The Bomb is] the provision of the law, called the medical loss ratio, that
requires health insurance companies to spend 80% of the consumers’
premium dollars they collect—85% for large group insurers—on actual
medical care rather than overhead, marketing expenses and profit.
Failure on the part of insurers to meet this requirement will result in
the insurers having to send their customers a rebate check representing
the amount in which they underspend on actual medical care.
This is the true ‘bomb’ contained in Obamacare and the one item that
will have more impact on the future of how medical care is paid for in
this country than anything we’ve seen in quite some time. Indeed, it is
this aspect of the law that represents the true ‘death panel’ found in
Obamacare—but not one that is going to lead to the death of American
consumers. Rather, the medical loss ratio will, ultimately, lead to the
death of large parts of the private, for-profit health insurance
industry.
Why? Because there is absolutely no way for-profit health insurers
are going to be able to learn how to get by and still make a profit
while being forced to spend at least 80 percent of their receipts
providing their customers with the coverage for which they paid. If they
could, we likely would never have seen the extraordinary efforts made
by these companies to avoid paying benefits to their customers at the
very moment they need it the most.
Today, that bomb goes off...
So he's claiming that the bill forces all profit-based insurance companies out of business. Hm.
So, can private health insurance companies manage to make a profit when
they actually have to spend premium receipts taking care of their
customers’ health needs as promised?
Not a chance-and they know it. Indeed, we are already seeing the parent
companies who own these insurance operations fleeing into other types of
investments. They know what we should all know – we are now on an
inescapable path to a single-payer system for most Americans and thank
goodness for it.
There will always be a for-profit health insurance industry for those
who want to pay for it.
I'm sorry, what? You were just explaining how it's impossible, under this law, for any for-profit health insurance company to make a profit. And now you're claiming that for-profit insurance companies will always exist. But they cannot possibly make a profit under this law. People will not go into this business...
The only difference will be that those who
cannot afford private coverage will also have an opportunity to get
their families the medical care that they need
Everyone wins-except the for-profit health insurers.
I can live with that.
Well, they can't. So you've announced that this means the end of private health insurance companies in this country. Competition will disappear. Hm. Somehow this seems to be a more stringent system than Britain has.
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