Report Finds Limited Competition In Nation’s Health Insurance Market

April 21, 2006

  • April 21, 2006 at 7:49 am
    Mr. Monopoly says:
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    The insurers that are creating monopolies in the health market are the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Companies. They dominate the insurance departments and the political processes in the various states. Let\’s hope the feds step in because the states don\’t have the courage to fix things.

  • April 21, 2006 at 9:12 am
    Roger Poe says:
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    4-21-2006

    Hmmm…

    (Copy & Paste address into your browser address bar)

    http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/healthcarepirates/

  • April 21, 2006 at 9:39 am
    Ray says:
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    Talk about a monopoly. Talk about anti-trust. And when you look at NJ it\’s even worse. Fix it. You\’ve got to be kidding. Anytime there is a way to increase competetion they (the industry) will find a way to fight it. And don\’t expect politicians to fix it, they\’re the ones with their hands out and in the pockets of the big carriers.

    IS ANYONE REALLY SURPRISED.

  • April 21, 2006 at 1:07 am
    IndAgent says:
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    Some want to fix it by making it more of a monopoly, having the government take care over everything. That is how smart these people are! I take an ologopoly with some competition than have government government employee trying to find themselves as they service us!

  • April 21, 2006 at 1:28 am
    Reagan says:
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    Either Ray is freaking nuts or I\’m misreading something. My opinion: Ray is insane and should be locked up immediately before he harms someone else. Ray, have you taken your medicine lately??

  • April 21, 2006 at 1:33 am
    Reagan says:
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    Actually, my apologies, Ray, it\’s Deborah K that is nuts, sorry, I associated the wrong name to Deborah\’s disjointed, rambling, insanity. Debbie dear, please take your meds

  • April 21, 2006 at 5:53 am
    Joseph says:
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    This AMerican Medical Association spokesman is bemoaning the lack of health insurance competition and that it has led to higher insurance prices.

    But what he doesn\’t address is how much the higher cost of medical care has pushed up insurance premiums. His sanctimmonious tone makes it sound like the doctors play no role in the high cost of health care in this country,

    What I think needs to happen for doctors and patients to realize where they\’d be without health insurance is to not have health insurance. Then, the doctors wouldn\’t have anyone to blame but themselves. That\’s because no one could afford their bills.

  • April 24, 2006 at 12:12 pm
    IndAgent says:
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    Joseph, you are way off base. A doctor here in California gets between $50 and $60 per patient per office visit. Given their rent, office staff, years of schooling, malpractice insurance, that is a bargain. Insurance companies have squeezed everything they can out of doctors. I make an average of 10x this on an insurance sale and I only have 4 years of schooling.

    Figure most people start working at age 22 after 4 years of college, well doctors don\’t start working until they are at least 30 (getting any kind of decent pay) not to mention hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans. I guess we can squeeze doctors even more, but by that point, only a fool would become an MD. Let\’s not scare away students from being MDs, they are far from being scams, when in the hell are you going to give up 10 years of your life learning your trade, huh???

  • April 23, 2006 at 2:12 am
    Earl says:
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    IF only what you said were true, you would have a point. But since the insurance industry is the one setting the prices ie PPO and HMO fee shedules, they are the culprits in the death of insurance. The doctors are just the whores getting pimped.

  • April 23, 2006 at 2:13 am
    Earl says:
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    ooops i meant the death of health care

  • April 23, 2006 at 2:16 am
    Earl says:
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    the doctors are the only ones who can fix this problem and when it starts hurting enough they will wake up and see that the insurance industry is their competition not their friend. Boy will that be an interesting fight!

  • April 24, 2006 at 8:39 am
    IndAgent says:
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    Joseph, consumee behavior is mind bogling and I agree with you 100% on consumers wanting the best coverange and wanting to pay the lowest price. I actually had someone tell me they wanted to get better coverage for a lower premium. At that point, I couldn\’t believe it so I had to educate them on logic. I have had nother clients who have used the heck out of their policy, just got out of surgery and were asking me to find ways to lower the cost of their plan. Sadly, our society is not educated in both logic and reality and that is a huge problem. I try to turn it back to them, \”would you work a 12 hour day and ask for a lower salary then if you worked an 8 hour day.\” I am ready to turn down people who choose to either play stupid or don\’t use their brain!

  • April 24, 2006 at 10:57 am
    Joseph says:
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    IND AGENT, what I am saying is if
    the American Medical Association is so
    unhappy – think of how unhappy they\’ll be
    WITHOUT HAVING THEIR CUSTOMERS HAVE
    INSURANCE. If they charge so low -as you say – why do these doctors worry about insurance payments? Make the insured person pay – and watch how wonderful doctors will find insurance then. Doctors don\’t dare – with few exceptions – dare to not rely on insurance. Now, rather than look inward – they blame the insurance industry. They should take care of their own house before they start throwing stones.

    Everyone goes to school to learn a profession or trade. And, most of these people go beyond the call of duty to
    do well in it. But there are very few
    people in this country who could afford
    to pay 100% of these people\’s bills.

  • April 24, 2006 at 11:16 am
    IndAgent says:
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    Joseph, you think the doctors are the cultprit, but they are not, they have been the ones getting squeezed in all this. I also disagree with the AMA, insurance companies are not the problem either. Cost of healthcare is going up because of the free market, people want the newest and latest medications and healthcare procedures. Much of this is not from doctors costs, but from the cost of prescriptions and equipment.

    People are complaining that the cost of healthcare is going up, but collectively the people need to look at the mirror and they are the reason. Is there anything wrong with the people wanting the best? Absolutely not! Is there something wrong with the people blaming doctors, insurance companies and the government? Yes, none of those are really part of the huge problem of skyrocketing healthcare costs.

    Insurance may be part of the problem in that it is like a buffet, it is all you can eat (or all the services you can get). Nevertheless, you cannot go from a 3000 square foot home to a 6000 sqaure foot home and start complaining on why the monthly costs have gone up. Same in healthcare, people are helping themselves to more, then they are clueless on why things keep going up! Hello!!!

  • April 24, 2006 at 12:03 pm
    Roger Poe says:
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    4-24-2006

    Joseph,

    For their own financial gain, can insurers pretend that historically basic [construction/medical business] procedures do not need to be \”allowed\” for when it its time for them to \”estimate\” a property/health care loss claim?

    Does accounting for (premium wise) necessary business procedures they know are needed, and using the financial leverage that they have, via policyholders money (premiums), that they use to fight policyholders…create environments ripe for financial shake-downs, by certain insurers, against contractors, home owners, business owners, auto-shops, doctors, health care claimants, etc.?

    Can blatant conflicts-of-interest, and financial fraud potential, exist, when insurers collect money to cover fair and reasonable real world market cost factors, and then, when they are responsible for paying a claimants bill, want to pretend real world market procedures/prices are unfair, and unfairly force their own business model onto others?

    Racketeering:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racketeering

    rogerpoegc@yahoo.com

  • April 24, 2006 at 2:29 am
    Joseph says:
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    I am saying that if these doctors want to pin the entire blame for high cost of medical care on the insurance industry (see their story) — and not take some of the responsibility themselves, give some to the hospital and drug industries and state legislative mandates – then they are myoptic. And, it\’s time true consumerism takes hold: do away with insurnace and let the consumer decide which doctor they will go to based on price and service. Let\’s see without insurance if these patients can afford to go to the doctor or have certain procedures.

    The new \”consumerism\” movement applies to
    health care as well as health insurance. There is not one prospective health insurance customer I speak with daily who does not ask the price of the premium. They want the cheapest premium but the best care. Since the doctors want to call all the shots — point their fingers at the insurance companies – let them deal directly with the consumers for their reimbursement.
    Insurance companies DO NOT have a moral obligation to sell insurance. If they don\’t make money doing it, they can – and will – sell something else or simply close down.

    The medical profession has this option as well if they don\’t make enough money. They can accept or reject the reimbursement or go sell earth shoes or go into some other more profitable venture.

    Joseph
    p.s. my whole problem with the medical profession is they do not recognize theat other factors are raising the price of health care and insurance. To them it\’s an insurance-caused problem. There are simply too many other factors involved in this problem. ANd, they should be ashamed of themselves for not thinking they share some of the blame.



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