Comments on: Your assignment.

By: TS

TS — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 14:10:47 +0000

Nationalizing health care as a strategy for cutting costs is an illusion. Those oldsters complaining about $5 co-pays need to get over themselves. As Sally Pipes wrote, “Yet risk pooling won’t reduce overall spending or even individual affordability. A dinner party analogy demonstrates why. If a person can’t afford a steak, letting everyone order a steak, pooling the bill, and distributing it back to individuals doesn’t make the steak more affordable. As a society, there is no other table to which to send the bill.”

Full thing here: http://books.nationalreview.com/review/?q=ODczN2Q5MjY4ZTMzMTFjM2M5ZjZiNDI0OTEzZGVjYTc=

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 12:49:29 +0000

I admit to not knowing much about this issue. But if health care is too expensive for private industry, why would it not be too expensive for the federal government? The money still has to come from somewhere. Being a Soldier, I have wonderful health care for myself and my family — all government-provided, of course. And I think the system works well. But I also know that it is tremedously expensive and eats up an increasing amount of the defense budget. My impression (and those of you who know, please correct me) is that health-care costs are so expensive for those who do pay to cover the expenses of those who do not pay. The problem is finding a way to provide health care (not necessarily insurance) to those who cannot afford it without diluting the quality of health care for those who can.

By: John

John — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 11:41:54 +0000

I finished my phyisical therapy in late June for my shoulder (surgery in May). God bless both of my therapists! Both were hard as nails but encouraging and very well educated. My range of motion is back to normal with no pain.

By: Ricardo

Ricardo — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 22:39:57 +0000

I don’t think that GM ought to be in the business of supplying worker’s health care. They could partner with Canada as should the states of Michigan and California, etc or partner with some successful European source, the US government isn’t interested.

GM didn’t used to be in the health care business. During the wage controlled 1940s health care was offered as a way of getting around the controls for recruitment advantages. Little did they know….

National health care would drive down total costs and one of the advantages would be to improve competitiveness of our industries, but with politicians in the pocket of health care for profit lobbyists, that’s not going to happen soon.

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 21:03:48 +0000

Yeah a coworker said the same thing about therapy. She broke her ankle badly in Vail 2.5 years ago and she knows all about the importance of going to therapy. We’re ready to write a check to the first contractor who’s willing to take over the job mid-wall!! Hell, he/she won’t need any supplies. We have paint, rollers, trimmers, brushes, tarps, and LADDERS. Three of ‘em.

By: nancy

nancy — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:26:28 +0000

Oh, and Dorothy — sorry to be late to the party, but let me add my get-well-soon wishes to the pile. Make sure he does all his p-therapy. And thanks for reminding me why I pay strangers to clean my gutters.

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:18:47 +0000

That’s what they kept telling us, Mary, and I am dreading what lies ahead. But we’re a team and I’ll work hard to get him through this. I’m just glad we had our week at the beach the week before this happened.

By: mary

mary — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:08:20 +0000

Emergency rooms can’t turn you away if you have no insurance, so I’m sure your insurance card was a welcome sight. Sorry to hear about your husband’s ankle and foot. Take good care of it, as ankles can be really hard to heal. Lots of little bones and ligaments and all that.

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 19:40:59 +0000

Ah medical insurance… We spent lots of time in two different hospitals this weekend after Mike fell off a ladder Friday night. At the second hospital, a nurse in the ER asked in this hopeful voice “Do y’all have insurance?” When we answered affirmatively she let out a huge breath of relief. It certainly makes things easier when you have it, that’s for sure.

By: brian stouder

brian stouder — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 19:38:34 +0000

An excellent article. I was particularly struck by these bits

In 1962, half the cars sold in America were made by General Motors. Flush with money, GM offered generous health coverage and deferred benefits (retiree health benefits and pensions) instead of higher wages. That choice made sense because health care was inexpensive, and the future medical bills of retirees didn’t have to be charged against revenue until they occurred. In essence, GM was buying health care on credit.

I didn’t realize that GM had always gone for ‘self-insurance’. Apparently they didn’t reserve enough cash over the years, for the liabilities that they assumed (which presumeably is what the women and men in the insurance company skyscrapers do every day). Afterall, insurance companies (that is to say, companies that exist to sell insurance, as opposed to Impalas) don’t seem to be hurting, by and large –

And what is GM getting for all that money? Despite having the Cadillac of health coverage plans, GM employees don’t live any longer than other U.S. blue-collar workers, according to GM data.

I find that somewhat breath-taking.