The problem with referring to the insurance industry as the health care industry is that it misses the reason why the free market doesn't work to bring health care to people. Unlike food or clothing or any other commodity, where if the seller doesn't sell the product it won't make money, insurance companies aren't in the business of selling health care. They're in the business of selling insurance. So they don't give a damn if people are provided health care so long as they're paying for insurance. In fact, as Mr. Potter points out, the portion of any dollar that goes to pay for medical claims has dropped from 95 cents to about 80 cents in just the last 15 years.
We need a public option. The only alternative would be government rulemaking, and that's not gonna happen.
It's tough not to conclude that anyone who thinks government won't work must be working for the insurance companies.
I practiced medicine for 31 years in the 2nd poorest of 67 Florida counties. It was quite common to see someone die because of no access to healthcare in a timely manner. Half my patients had no insurance. And, no they were not “mostly illegal immigrants”.The rare non-English speaking patient(who may or may not have been illegal) always brought cash. If an imaging study was needed, such as an MRI, it would be a terrible uphill battle and arguing and fighting with a Wall Street owned hospital...etc. I never heard of a Medicare patient complain about access. What other rich country on earth has such a crude, heartless, despicable and morally reprehensible state of affairs? Is the whole world wrong and only Americans are right? It would be very naive to believe such nonsense? Our healthcare delivery system is the laughing stock of the world. One hears this in between-the-lines comments from visiting foreign colleagues at national medical conventions. As a prominent Princeton economist said; “Advanced countries don’t do that to their citizens”. Something has to change where the insurance companies will stop cherry-picking by refusing to give insurance to anyone except the perfectly healthy. From a moral and ethical standpoint, insurance executives, big pharma executives and big finance executives have a lot in common.
fedex supervisors are the only ones allowed to own stock regular hourlys are not fedex people need this as much as our country does ups and fedex do exactly the same thing but fedex employees get the shaft
Thank you Mr. Potter for revealing the unscrupulous strategies and tactics of the health insurance industry. As a long time member of an Indiana group advocating for the single payer option (www. hchp.org) I had long suspected as much and it was good to have your verification.
Your congressional testimony and the Interview with Bill Moyers should be required viewing for anyone concerned about healthcare reform. I have emailed Senator Baucus with links to the PBS web site and plan to forward them on also to my congressional representatives. I hope others will do the same.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch.html
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch2.html
Christina Deegan
Bloomington, Indiana
fedex employees make about 12 dollars less per hour where did you get your info anyway
fedex supervisors are the only ones allowed to own stock regular hourlys are not fedex people need this as much as our country does ups and fedex do exactly the same thing but fedex employees get the shaft
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