Private insurers are the problem, not the solution, for the health-care crisis

The private health-care-insurance companies are the cause of our health-care-insurance problems, not the solution. To really lower and control costs, we need Medicare for all. The public option is the compromise. Although private-enterprise competition works to reduce costs in other fields, it doesn't work for the health-care-insurance companies because they have no control over health-care costs. They can only add to those costs with their expensive bureaucracy, profit margins and excessive executive compensation.

— Fred Flaxman
Weaverville

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10 thoughts on “Private insurers are the problem, not the solution, for the health-care crisis

  1. JWTJr

    Rates for products and services in almost all medicine are set by Medicare and Medicaid. The insurance industry largely works off of those rates. I would blame the entity that sets the prices on the services we get …. he Gov’t.

    The insurance industry is a straw man and a distraction to the real problem. If you don’t want your rates to go up, tell Medicare to stop approving new products and services.

  2. dhalgren

    “he Gov’t” Now that’s something I could get behind! Manly “he gov’t” with straw man distractions from the real problems. Stop that medicare! Stop that!

    A man with such powerful insightfulness should run for office. I’ll vote for you sweetie! But seriously, don’t you think taking the middleman out of the equation would reduce costs?

  3. JWTJr

    You obviously don’t know much about our health care systems. Medicare is a middle man. Medicaid is a middle man. Insurance is a middle man. Medicare guidelines govern all three. Medicare prices medicine. Doctors then figure out how to manipulate the system so they can have a huge house and awesome car. Hospitals do the same. If you don’t like the rules, blame Medicare. Insurance profits pale in comparison.

  4. dhalgren

    I love being the middle man! Medicaid and medicare are administrative bodies, insurance companies administrate and profit. But, if say so, I’ll blame medicare. (you’re so forceful)

  5. Piffy!

    [b]Doctors then figure out how to manipulate the system so they can have a huge house and awesome car. Hospitals do the same.[/b]

    we should just force doctors to work for free.

  6. R.Bernier opinions

    Do you work?
    Do you want others to pay for your health-care?

    Earn it – then maybe you could have a big house.

    RB

  7. Federal healthcare is inherently antichoice because corporate bean counters have every reason to care about prenatal, postnatal, and pediatric costs and thus cover abortion, where Obamacare legislators like Stupak with infinite credit have no reason to care about costs, either personal or collective and are thus totally uncaring. That is why I joined the Asheville Tea Party.

  8. travelah

    Medicare has the highest claims rejection rate of all insurers. It is terribly slow to pay and it’s reimbursement rates are so low as to cause many practitioners to forgo adding new Medicare patients. Why would anybody want to destroy what works very well for the vast majority of people in this country to have everybody on Medicare? That is a recipe for declining quality and care affecting everybody.
    It seems quite clear that the ignorance level among the liberals is quite high with regard to how medical costs are controlled and billed. Insurance companies are the front line defense against health care inflation rather than the cause of it. Their profit margins are relatively low and their executives are generally compensated based on comparable salaries in business and have nothing to do with premium costs.

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