When our Financial Markets take a dive or get manipulated, or when our Mortgage Markets collapse, or when the Oil Markets spike – will these things impact a market driven Health Care plan?
Should something as important as our Health be subjected to the manipulations of Health Care ‘Players’? Or reduced to the success or failure of a company who has ‘profit motive’ as drivers?
The last thing you need to lose when the economy tanks is your Health Insurance.
Would Market Driven Health Care Work as well as the Mortgage, Financial, or Oil Markets?
08
Jun
MrNiceGuy
June 8, 2010 at 2:06 am
What do you mean “would” or “should”
That’s the way it runs now
Isn’t it great??
Two out of ten uninsured
And the insurance companies trying their damnedest to not pay out to the other eight of ten when they need it.
RED
June 8, 2010 at 2:16 am
Well unless they can figure a way to package the health care benefits into a bundle and sell it to wall street as a commodity then no. That is how they have been driven up in price in recent years.
Lisa M
June 8, 2010 at 2:58 am
I think it would work for a short time. But, with all market driven businesses, you have to take the good with the bad. I’m just not sure I want to have my health insurance publicly traded and to have to be at the mercy of shareholders.
Time to Shrug, Atlas
June 8, 2010 at 3:43 am
The mortgage/financial mess can be partially blamed on Fed easy money policies. However, realize that the downturn in prices is simply a reflection of houses returning to their actual values. This is exactly how markets are supposed to work.
Oil markets, despite today’s sound-bites about speculation, are also functioning according to supply and demand, with occasional deviations due to greed or fear. Oil prices may be reflecting unsupported optimism currently, but no matter how many “speculators” [1] pile on, they will eventually return to their intrinsic value.
I assume that you are suggesting the government driven health care as an alternative. Do you really want the same government that brought you the Post Office (couldn’t deliver an overnight package until UPS showed them how), Social Security (anemic returns coupled with the real possibility of collapse) in charge of funding our health care system?
The current affordability of health insurance is largely impacted by state specific mandates. For example, states such as New York and New jersey require that policies are “guaranteed issue” and cover expensive but not common procedures such as fertility treatment. These states are among those where premiums have sky rocketed, making them difficult to afford for many citizens. And guaranteed issue means that people are able to wait until they are sick to apply for insurance, and the insuance company is FORCED to pay. Why would anyone even bother buying insurance until they have to? Perhaps the answer is to partially remove government from the equation, not pile more on top…
You think health care is expensive now? Wait until it is free.
[1] I challenge the term speculator. Most of the “specualtion” going on is the hedging activities of industry (airlines) and the diversification of pension funds. “Speculator” is simply a term being thrown out right now by politicians resorting to election year “do something” politicis in attempt to whip the masses into a frenzy.
Randall E
June 8, 2010 at 4:28 am
Actually the only problem with the markets you mentioned is that because they’re credit-driven, they’re susceptible to wild price fluctuations when the Fed creates too much liquidity by cutting the intended Federal Funds Rate too far.
http://mises.org/story/2999
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~db52/housing.pdf
The government is responsible for the schools, roads, bridges, post office and defense.
Our teenagers are illiterate and partake in pregnancy pacts, our roads look like the lunar surface, our bridges are collapsing, they call it “snail mail” for a reason, and thousands of people can’t find a seven foot tall terrorist even though they’re offering goat herders tens of millions of dollars for mere information leading to his capture.
And you want to put that same government in charge of health care?
Max50
June 8, 2010 at 4:57 am
We have to get rid of the trail lawyers and that would stablize the market.
When we have a society that believes evertime somthing goes wrong we sue.
The Edwards of the world swoop in take their 80%+ than fly away leaving the victim.
The highest cost in malpratice insurance.
Can you name me 1 government program that isn’t out of control with thier spending that was intended to help people?
Welfare
1 tax dollar about 10 cents or less makes it to the welfare mom.
So who is scamming who?
seeking
June 8, 2010 at 5:43 am
One only have to look at many of the health care providers today in the “Market driven” health care to know; if you don’t have the cash, and sick, you may have to give up the ghost.