Massachusetts Experiment

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Al3 dropped his membership because he feels that NAHU wants to kill single payor free universal health and and promotes the lifestyle of "greedy, six-figure" agents andgreedy, corrupt rubber-stamped insurers.

I'll bet his local chapter was really "broke up" over that one...
Wonder if he'd feel different if he was making more than four figures?

 

[Dave020]

I just find the opposition of opinion interesting.

I tend to agree with Motoxxx on this. CAHU really caved in on the ABX legislation then went into rah-rah mode about it.

I give Anthem a lot of props on this. The other "3" went into rah-rah mode as well and Anthem had the guts to stand alone and say "this won't work". Now look at Mass.

Motoxxx is right, if univeral came in and it had to be decided what place agents would have in the system, I am not super confident that NAHU or CAHU would be terribly concerned about keeping me in business.

For now I will continue my membership, but will keep a closer eye on what NAHU says versus does in terms of health insurance reform and protecting me in the mix.

BTW, before "anyone" misunderstands that last sentence, I mean this:

"protecting me" = I have a place in the system that allows me to continue helping people and earning an income. If it's less per case, cool, as long as I can still do my job and be compensated for it.

 

[GreenSky]

If it's less per case, cool, as long as I can still do my job and be compensated for it.

You are the same as every agent who posts here, with one notable exception of course. You expect to be compensated for helping someone obtain what they should get for free. You are one greedy bastard (who still owes me a Guinness).

I gave up on CAHU when they wouldn't say "boo" about unlicensed employees of Medicare HMO plans being allowed to suggest prospects drop their med supps to enroll in their plans. (Yes, I'm picking on Secure Horizons). I needed a license to take someone from an HMO into a supplement, but their "highly" trained employees could do the opposite.

While this is no longer an issue, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Therefore I am not a member although I do contribute to the PAC.

Rick

 

[Guest]

I'll bet his local chapter was really "broke up" over that one...

Actually, I was surprised. I got a call from a local officer as well as the head of the membership committee to re-join. And I didn't leave because I disagreed with the NAHU/CAHU positions. I left because they wouldn't even listen to my argument.

When Aetna changed their commission structure in CA which hurt some agents NAHU/CAHU did nothing, despite my plea to at least look into the subject. They told me that there were more important issues they had on their agenda.

NAHU and CAHU are as close-minded as the vast majority of you guys are on this board.

Wonder if he'd feel different if he was making more than four figures?

I write more life and DI than health these days. I do fine. Thank you for asking.

Of course I have multiple sources of business income and I also made good investment choices during the earlier part of my life, so now that I'm in my 60s I don't have to work as hard at any one eandeavor to sustain our lifestyle, which is probably far less expensive than most of yours... we have no kids at home, no consumer debt, a tiny $170K mortgage (small by most standards) and our major medical bills are paid by Medicare.

You guys just don't want to see the future. The future is socialized medicine just like everywhere else on the planet. You can huff and you can puff, but you are not going to blow the house down. I don't know if it will be single payor or two-tier, or if agents will be part of the mix. I don't much care, so long as the system allows access to everyone just like in the UK, Germany, etc.

You all remind me of all the good white Southerners in the late 50s and 60s who fought like hell against voting rights, school integration, and equal access to public facilities (rest rooms, lunch counters, etc.)

Guys like moonlight, and Rick, and winter and a whole bunch of you are just like "good old boys" of the South. And what happened? Their world came tumbling down and it was better for everyone.... except them... and you know what? No one cared (about them.)

If you folks want to live in what is soon to be the past, be my guest. No one is going to care much. There is no political, social, or even economic support for the current IFP system... except by NAHU which is owned and operated by the large carries.

Agents are duped into thinking that NAHU cares for them... but if every agent quit, they wouldn't care at all and would go right on with business as usual. You agents are just window-dressing to them. And while I have one, it does not take a masters in political science (William and Marry, 1974) to understand that.

So keep moaning and groaning about how it can't work. We heard it all back in 1963 with Medicare. But we got Medicare and the world did not stop spinning.

 

[GreenSky]

So keep moaning and groaning about how it can't work. We heard it all back in 1963 with Medicare. But we got Medicare and the world did not stop spinning.

Yeah, and Medicare's doing really well. It runs out of money when?

Rick

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

...and Part B has increased 64% in the past 5 years. Yep - the government's right on top of it.

And without either an increase of tax revenue or a way to lower costs the Medicare Trust runs out of money in 2019.

That does not mean that Medicare can go broke and end. A Federal law allows Medicare to use general funds outside of the trust. All that means is to continue providing Medicare something else has to give.

 

[Guest]

...and Part B has increased 64% in the past 5 years. Yep - the government's right on top of it.

And what has the cost of health care risen by in the past five years? You can't ONLY blame Medicare or the health insurance industry for high(er) rates. It's the entire system that is broken. Any of you who have seen an hospital bill for an $80 aspirin will understand. (I'm willing to bet most of you have never even been in a hospital or ever seen a bill!)

And without either an increase of tax revenue or a way to lower costs the Medicare Trust runs out of money in 2019.

Um... Medicare can't run out of money. They can virtually print it.

That does not mean that Medicare can go broke and end. A Federal law allows Medicare to use general funds outside of the trust.

Exactly. Some of you folks (especially on the far right) don't have a clue about how politics in the country works. Do you really think that a bazillion baby boomers are going to vote for anyone who allows Medicare to be flushed down the toilet?

All that means is to continue providing Medicare something else has to give.

Of course. All we have to do is cut the bloated defense budget by 25%, cut foreign aid by 50% (100% would work for me), end ALL agricultural subsidies, legalize and tax marijuana (like cigarettes and booze) and cut the wasted education and housing budgets along with half of the bridge to nowhere pork, and we would have plenty of money.

Every other major industrial country in the world has universal healthcare. You are going to tell me we can't afford it in the USA? I thought you guys were all right-wing, stand-up for the USA, love-it-or-STFU, let's kick some ass... types? But instead I hear a bunch of girlie-men, wimpy-boys.

There is nothing we can't do in this country if/when we have the political will. And while I might be proven wrong, I just don't see a whole lot of favorable political support for the current private-sector IFP system with its highly paid agents and underwriters as the gatekeepers and houseboys of the large carriers.

The light at the end of the tunnel? For some of you it will be a freight train that is going to run right over you. It's being driven by a new administration with a lot of political steam behind it. You might be able to derail it, but this time I don't believe it will be quite as easy as in the past. The old Harry and Louise can't compete with Michael Moore, the blogsphere, a Democratic Congressional majority and the NEW Harry and Louise who are close to Medicare age... watch and learn.

 

[motoxxx]

The new admin has a lot of steam behind it because of the amount of media bias, and foreign money that was put into the Obama campaign. A man with 144 days of experience as a Senator with not a single piece of legislation authored by him, climbs through the shady world of Chicago politics and doesn't get any dookie on him, has ties with a domestic terrorist (Bill Ayres Note: That would have been the equivalent of John McLame starting his political career at Timothy McVeighs house!), his racist pastor that he listened to for more than 20 years and gave $25,000+ to in 2003 or 2004 (would you give that kind of money to someone you didn't agree with?) and this is the guy that we should rally around? Not me. Not in a million years. He is dangerous.

In his own words: WATCH THIS ENTIRE VIDEO!



So now these idiots think they can run our healthcare system? Sure, because these idiots ran their campaign well? Not the same thing I am afraid. I guess since Tom Dachle did such a good job in South Dakota on their health care...Oh, wait, they voted him out of office!

I know this got waaaay off topic but I couldn't help myself.

Some of the biggest factors in rising health care costs are in no particular order:

Illegal immigrants: taking up resources in hospitals and not having to pay their bills. That loss to the hospitals is passed on to those who can pay! I have witnessed this first hand at the ER my mom still works at! It is a crime what they get away with. I should tell you about a client of mine that runs a big birthing center in Arizona! Man that one hospital alone loses million a year to illegals!

Legal fees - Malpractice insurance, frivolous law suits, ambulance chasers, and out of control financial settlements due to lawyers going after huge fees for clients from the insurance companies.

Technology: The US leads the world in new medical technology and medicines that the rest of the world gets to benefit from. This technology and medicine is developed by companies so that they can hopefully make a profit. Yes that's right! They do it so that they can make money! Developing these things is expensive and the rest of the world is benefiting from medical advances that are made in our free market economy. The socialized medical systems around the world do not develop these types of things because there is no money in it for them.

Aging population: People are living longer but the costs to keep many of them alive (even when maybe they shouldn't) gets more and more expensive. The longer people live in ill health, the more it costs everyone.

Name me one that our any government runs well? And you want them to run health care? That is a much more complicated project than running a war or bailing out fraudulent loans!

BTW Michelle Obama was making about $120K per year doing promotional work for a hospital but after her hubby became a Senator they gave her a $200K per year raise! I guess she should run health care then?
Hospital officials say Obama's wife deserved big raise - On Deadline - USATODAY.com
And on NPR about half way down the page under "Professional Life Under Scrutiny: Michelle Obama: The Exec, Mom And Campaigner : NPR

And on a final note, your beloved universal health care system killed my wife's cousin two years ago because a BEAUROCRAT decided it cost too much to do her surgery on her brain tumor. Her doctor had no say in it but was sure he could have saved her if the bureaucrats had not tried to wait her out. which they did, so she died, and then everyone saved money except for her husband that still had to pay burial expenses.

OK. I am done for now....(steps of soap box)

 

[JMO Fan]

Yeah, and Medicare's doing really well. It runs out of money when?

Rick

Actually, Medicare benefits became larger than Medicare tax income in late 2007. The fund will likely be depleted during Obama's first term. Borrowing from general revenues (e.g., income tax, t-bills, etc.) will likely make its bankruptcy invisible to the general public.

Current health care expenditures equal the total budget of the federal government, including Medicare & Social Security. Socializing it would double the federal govt, which means doubling ALL taxes. And that's just to pay for health care we already use, which many think is inadequate.

I'm really hopeful Massachusetts' "experiment" will work itself out. No other solution seems politically feasible. The alternatives would all bankrupt the country.

 

[motoxxx]

From what I understand the Mass plan is going belly up too. The one they just tried here in WA did the same. Hawaii had theirs implode as well.