How Employer-Sponsored Insurance Drives Up Health Costs

[HB1965]

An interesting article from the Forbes Website

A new study in Health Affairs is attracting attention for its depiction of how powerful hospitals are extracting “steep payment increases” from insurers. But what the study really tells us is how much the exceptional cost of American health insurance is caused by our system’s original sin: the fact that, due to a quirk in the federal tax code, most of us don’t buy insurance for ourselves, but instead have it bought on our behalf by our employers.

“In the constant attention paid to what drives health costs,” the authors begin, “only recently has scrutiny been applied to the power that some health care providers, particularly dominant hospital systems, wield to negotiate higher payment rates from insurers.” If you’re a regular reader of The Apothecary, you know from where some of that scrutiny has come. And hence, you won’t be surprised to learn that the Health Affairs study does indeed find that powerful hospital systems have the power to dictate prices to insurers

Read the full article here

 

[Bert Notorius]

I have a friend in hospital administration and he make a gazillion dollars a year and I have no idea what he does...please carry on.

 

[KRCummings]

Pffffft. What does Forbes know about money?

 

[HB1965]

Pffffft. What does Forbes know about money?

Hmm... I don't know. Maybe something.

 

[koalabear]

Next thing you know they will say doctors own the insurance companies and everyone has UAW coverage.

 

[Redatlit]

An interesting article from the Forbes Website




Read the full article here

That was a good read, HB. Thanks for posting it.

 

[NeverEndingMe]

Next thing you know they will say doctors own the insurance companies and everyone has UAW coverage.

and the UAW is an honest organization!


hey when union's go on strike, why do the fucktards employed by AFL-CIO still get paid?

hum.... just saying


go Team Hoffa!

 

[HB1965]

That was a good read, HB. Thanks for posting it.

The stuff on what happened between Tufts Health Plan and Partners HealthCare was interesting to me because my company just switched to Tufts as our provider.

 

[tactful]

And when the Insurance Company is big enough, it simply drops the Hospital.
If the Health industry wasn't under stock ownership the costs wouldn't be so high, in New Jersey we have NJ Manufacturers Ins Co (Auto & Home Insurance), it takes in, only what it needs for employees, what it takes to run the company and pays out when a claim is filed.

 

[mercury14]

Employer-sponsored health insurance was never meant to be the primary way people in America get their health care. It's just a terrible idea. Employers should be giving bonus gravy coverage as a benefit (if they choose) and should not be burdened with the full responsibility of caring for their workers' health and all their workers' family's health.

Get the responsibility for health care off our business' backs and our economy will take off like a rocket.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

When you do not feel that you are paying, then you don't care about economizing and conserving.

We have that problem in more areas than just this one.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

And yet, the government wants to create "pools" to use economies of scale to solve the problem of expenses, which is basically what business does; use its size to get a better deal, so obviously the problem is not to attack business and their "tax breaks" because that is not the sole root cause.

Putting the load back onto the consumer, not the employer or the ruler would be the answer.

 

[busybody..]

there is one simple way to crash the premiums paid

and

why its NOT TRIED

makes no sense

allow ALL insurance companies to SELL IN ALL States

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

there is one simple way to crash the premiums paid

and

why its NOT TRIED

makes no sense

allow ALL insurance companies to SELL IN ALL States

Works for Geico!

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Insurance creates inefficiency and inflation.

When people pay outta pocket they self-ration medical services, and self-medicate. When the boss pays people go the MD for everything.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Insurance creates inefficiency and inflation.

When people pay outta pocket they self-ration medical services, and self-medicate. When the boss pays people go the MD for everything.

Health Accounts.





The problem is, the touchy-feely crowd expects the rest of us ants to pay for the grasshoppers...

 

[busybody..]

Works for Geico!

why do ALL insurance companies sell in ALL STATES?


and


not HEALTH INSURANCE companies



I can crash teh premium market in 6 seconds.....

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

why do ALL insurance companies sell in ALL STATES?


and


not HEALTH INSURANCE companies



I can crash teh premium market in 6 seconds.....

Even state governments want to control health care in order to control your behavior...



Outlaw MOUNTAIN CLIMBING!!!

 

[busybody..]

actulally ALL Mountain climbers should be made to SIGN a document stating should they get LOST or STUCK, the State ect will NOT spend $$ looking for em

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

actulally ALL Mountain climbers should be made to SIGN a document stating should they get LOST or STUCK, the State ect will NOT spend $$ looking for em

NO WAY!!!!


They'll claim they DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IT any more than their MORTGAGE!!!


Make it ILLEGAL to save us some money!