Welcome to Omgili,
Omgili ( Oh My God I Love It ;) is a search engine for discussions. With Omgili you can find answers and solutions, debates, discussions, personal experiences, opinions and more... To learn more about Omgili click here.
This is a complete preview of the discussion as it was indexed by Omgili crawlers. Use this preview if the original discussion is unavailable.
Click here to view the original discussion.
[http://forums.wsj.com/viewt...]
Click here to search for discussions with Omgili discussions search engine.
 |
WSJ.com Forums :: View topic - The Florida Revelation...
Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 10:32 pm Post subject: The Florida Revelation...
(4 ratings)
"The Florida Revelation..."
posting.
to post online.
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 8:47 am Post subject: Re: The Florida Revelation...
(4 ratings)
Good piece, thank you WSJ.
Two additional facts 1) facing a significant budget shortfall here in FLA, state funded healthcare coverage would have been 'dead on arrival';
2) Gov. Crist's father is a primary care physician, that may provide him with a unique perspective on healthcare issues and challenges.
Gov. Crist currently has high approval ratings, he's working with those on 'both sides of the aisle' to get things done.
Mary Kelley
St Petersburg, FL
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 10:05 am Post subject: Re: The Florida Revelation...
(7 ratings)
Great opinion piece that squarely hits on the proper solution to the "healtcare crisis".
Insurance is meant to protect policy holders against catastrophic loss, not provide free services as many expect, especially from healt insurance.
State governments best course is to reduce regulations so insurers can provide simple, streamlined policies that allow individuals and families to properly manage their healthcare risks.
These policies, combined with a tax exempt medical savings account, families of any income level can afford their healthcare.
If individual policy owners looked at what they spend monthly for $5 copay coverage today, and compare that number to what they would actually spend on healthcare, (family of four, insurance premiums reflecting both individual contributions plus employer contributions , copays and deductables), many families are annually paying between $20,000 - $ 24,000 to protect themselves against a $750 loss.
The math just doesn't add up.
One other benefit, if individuals were having to directly pay for simple medical procedures, they would be more interested in what they pay, and would likely shop for these services, putting downward pricing pressure on these charges.
The current system, an individual has no incentive to pay attention to what is these services cost.
This allows service providers to create "false pricing" to those without coverage.
In other words, because the transaction between the healthcare provider and the insurance carrier is hidden from those receiving services, (an insurance company does not pay $1500 for a routine x ray for example), a service provider can claim that they charge an inflated fee when in fact their rarely if ever collect that amount.
The result is uninsured people are left to struggle with outrageous bills that really do not reflect what the market is really paying.
Let's hope more states follow Florida's lead.
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 11:08 am Post subject: Re: The Florida Revelation...
(5 ratings)
While I agree with the politics, it seems a little early to brand it the "Florida success"...
Unless, of course, you're referring to the fact that it got passed at all.
We should probably wait for next year's uninsured numbers to brand the legislation a success or not.
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 11:27 am Post subject: Re: The Florida Revelation...
(4 ratings)
We have finally come to the realization that.
However altruistic they may seem, the federal government, the States and the health care community hav interfered by its with the efficient delivery of health care services.
On the other side, of course we have the additional costs imposed on the system by the Queens of Tort.
Not only must the costs of prospective litigation be accounted for, the systems themselves find themselves requiring additional and costly testing in the hope of demonstarting due diligence and avoiding litigation.
Now comes the next step -- creating an efficient market for health care services.
Rather than ruminating at too great length here, we discuss this at the blog www.truthfuljames.blogspot.com and propose a partial solution to this problem, using methodlogy now present in the financial sector under the title "Controlling Costs By Setting Efficient Prices in the Health Care Market.
Paul D.
Speer, Jr.
President MFCS, Inc.
Buffalo Grove, Il 60089
peterdee99@hotmail.com
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 11:50 am Post subject: Re: The Florida Revelation...
(10 ratings)
Finally someone understands the real problem with healthcare in our country.
The current cost of healthcare is in need of help because the politicians, who have for the most part never been in the public workforce, or have never had the experience of owning/running their own business, are voicing their opinion as to what is best for us in healthcare coverage.
The real engine of our economy is the small business person, who because of the ignorance of our Politicians, carry the burden and cost of healthcare.
Here is a novel approach - open healthcare up to the free market and let the consumers decide what coverage is best for their families.
The decisions policitians make won't affect the healthcare coverage they receive from the Federal or State government, yet they have the authority to impose what they feel is paramount for healthcare coverage for the average American family.
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 4:40 pm Post subject: Re: The Florida Revelation...
(9 ratings)
"In other words, they're prohibited from buying the lower-cost options that might be better suited to their needs."
Exactly.
Poor people suck.
They actually are slightly less humanoid, and therefore require fewer needs for living...especially with respect to healthcare.
But, hey.
Why stop there? They also might be able to purchase the amount of food more suitable to their needs.
And, since like healthcare, they need less than the rest of us (civilized) humans, poverty is the perfect solution to their problems!
I actually think the poor are being overwhelmed by their surplus.
Maybe we should assist them by appropriating their wealth for our, more important and significant, needs.
Regressive taxation anyone?!
Man, if only my needs were as low as poor peoples', I sure could save a pretty penny!
Your pal,
-Bill
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:45 pm Post subject: Re: The Florida Revelation...
(4 ratings)
A few thoughts on healthcare--
First of all, enacting tort reform would be a huge boon to lowering costs.
Secondly, like almost everything else in life, there is no "one size fits all" sol'n.
Offering people options of healthcare from low cost basic/limited coverage to expensive all-inclusive alternative medicine/massage/aroma-therapy plans (no joke, they're in some of these "cadillac plans") seems to be the most cost-effective, practical approach to resolving the health-care coverage issue.
But let people shop around for the plan they believe suits their needs the best, give them a tax break to pay for it, then let market forces do their job by allowing competition.
Thirdly, enacting tort reform would be a huge boon to lowering costs.
Finally, anyone who's worked in ANY government capacity will be well acquainted with the "wait-in-line" , "get-on-the-list-and-we'll-get-it-done-in-few-months" mentality --of course it saves huge amounts of money if you just die first.
(Been to a post office lately?
Gotten a passport recently?
Waited in line at the DMV?
Well welcome to government efficiency )
Oh, and did I mention that enacting tort reform would be a huge boon to lowering costs as well....?
Tricia Pancoast MD
PS Go Charlie!
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:47 pm Post subject: Re: The Florida Revelation...
(3 ratings)
An excellent article, thank you WSJ.
Why doesn't RNC and McCain talk more about successes like Governor Crist in Florida ?
A good common sense no frills basic healthcare plus catastropic care coverage is what most people want anyway.
It's the lawyers and healthcare lobby that come up with the mandates that raise the healthcare costs for all.
For the elective healthcare choices, why not create a la carte healthcare coverage and let the consumers choose ?
Government run universal or near-universal healthcare is wonderful to hear until we see the costs and what taxation would be required to pay for them.
If McCain is listening, maybe Governor Crist ought to be really high on his VP list !
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 9:11 pm Post subject: Re: The Florida Revelation...
(5 ratings)
Talk about declaring victory before your team has taken the field!- Please produce evidence and quit with the ideology.
Refute this fact- West European socialized medicine (based on physician rationing and relative freedom from litigation) delivers a cheaper and higher quality product (based on real morbidity and mortality data outcomes- not rich people bitching about getting their hernias done more quickly) with better patient acceptance than any actual fully realized product advocated here.
William Mayo MD
|
|
Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 8:39 am Post subject: Re: The Florida Revelation...
Guess who has the ideological blinders on!
The West European nations being references here (the primary successes being the Scandinavian ones) are way more racially and enthically homogeneous than the US.
The population is almost entirely white (same fact was stated in another WSJ article on why school achievement levels were much higher there).
If one were to take out the african american and illegal alien population, how would the US morbidity and mortality statistics compare with those nations?
And the only nation which is even close to the US levels of multi-cultural society (UK) is up to its nose in problems related to the crumbling NHS system.
Yes, let us require and produce 'evidence' but first let us use our 'elitist' minds to some population normalized statistical comparison first!
And also let us remember that this nation was founded under the principle of individual liberty, and some brilliant Founding Fathers designed the constitution - not Karl Marx.
Elena Lemin
|
|
|
|