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Old 03-24-2012, 09:22 PM
AGDee AGDee is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 15,390
I think a single-payer system would be a disaster, which is why I like the act as it has been passed. I believe firmly that it will lower premiums significantly because it focuses on competition and quality both. I can say that the health insurance plan that is my current employer is scrambling to get the per member per month administrative costs down so that they can offer competitive premiums. Additionally, as the only non-profit health care plan in Michigan right now, they have been the insurer of last resort who could not turn away people because of previous history. When that entire burden rests on one health plan, that plan has to fight to survive because they get the entire high risk pool dumped on them, which increases premiums for all of their members. Ditto for hospitals in the inner city who bear most of the burden of providing free care for the uninsured.

My ideal system would take the plans out of the employers' hands completely, save for vouchers they could provide to their employees to select any plan they choose. That would enable them to lure high quality employees with "benefits", but the "benefits" wouldn't dictate which insurance plan the employee could choose. This would be real choice, real capitalism, because you could pick based on cost, quality, customer service, providers covered, etc. Health care insurance companies are scrambling to improve all of things right now, in advance of the health exchanges going up in October, 2013.

Let me pick. Give us freedom. Maintain competition among them to keep prices down.
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