Re: Get Rid of the For-Profit Health Insurance Industry Absolutely Almost 50 million people in the USA have no health insurance ! ! ! That is more people than the whole population of Spain !
The US state of Health Care system is a National Security threat to the USA. OffWorld --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "do.rflex" <do.rf...@...> wrote: > > > > "Private insurers necessarily waste health dollars > on things that have nothing to do with care: overhead, > underwriting, billing, sales and marketing departments > as well as huge profits and exorbitant executive pay. > Doctors and hospitals must maintain costly administrative > staffs to deal with the bureaucracy. > > "Combined, this needless administration consumes one-third > (31 percent) of Americans' health dollars." > > + + > > -Single-Payer National Health Insurance- is a system in which a single public or quasi-public agency organizes health financing, but delivery of care remains largely private. > > Currently, the U.S. health care system is outrageously expensive, yet inadequate. Despite spending more than twice as much as the rest of the industrialized nations ($7,129 per capita), the United States performs poorly in comparison on major health indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality and immunization rates. > > Moreover, the other advanced nations provide comprehensive coverage to their entire populations, while the U.S. leaves 45.7 million completely uninsured and millions more inadequately covered. > > The reason we spend more and get less than the rest of the world is because we have a patchwork system of for-profit payers. > > Private insurers necessarily waste health dollars on things that have nothing to do with care: overhead, underwriting, billing, sales and marketing departments as well as huge profits and exorbitant executive pay. Doctors and hospitals must maintain costly administrative staffs to deal with the bureaucracy. > > Combined, this needless administration consumes one-third (31 percent) of Americans' health dollars. > > Single-payer financing is the only way to recapture this wasted money. The potential savings on paperwork, more than $350 billion per year, are enough to provide comprehensive coverage to everyone without paying any more than we already do. > > Under a single-payer system, all Americans would be covered for all medically necessary services, including: doctor, hospital, preventive, long-term care, mental health, reproductive health care, dental, vision, prescription drug and medical supply costs. > > Patients would regain free choice of doctor and hospital, and doctors would regain autonomy over patient care. > > Physicians would be paid fee-for-service according to a negotiated formulary or receive salary from a hospital or nonprofit HMO / group practice. Hospitals would receive a global budget for operating expenses. Health facilities and expensive equipment purchases would be managed by regional health planning boards. > > A single-payer system would be financed by eliminating private insurers and recapturing their administrative waste. > > Modest new taxes would replace premiums and out-of-pocket payments currently paid by individuals and business. Costs would be controlled through negotiated fees, global budgeting and bulk purchasing. > > ~ ~ Much more at link including Single Payer Facts and Myths & FAQ that debunk the usual self-serving for-profit Insurance Industry talking points > ~~ Physicians for a National Health Program http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single_payer_resources.php > > > ALSO at link: > > The Case Against For-Profit Care > > Overview: The High Costs of For-Profit Care > Editorial by David Himmelstein, MD and Steffie Woolhandler, MD in the Canadian Medical Association Journal > > > For-Profit Hospitals Cost More and Have Higher Death Rates > Devereaux, PJ "Payments at For-Profit and Non-Profit Hospitals," Can. Med. Assoc. J., Jun 2004; 170 > > Devereaux, PJ "Mortality Rates of For-Profit and Non-Profit Hospitals," Can. Med. Assoc. J, May 2002; 166 > > > For-Profit Hospitals Cost More and Have Higher Administration Expenses > Himmelstein, et al "Costs of Care and Admin. At For-Profit and Other Hospitals in the U.S." NEJM 336, 1997 > > > For-Profit HMOs Provide Worse Quality Care > Himmelstein, et al "Quality of Care at Investor-Owned vs. Not-for-Profit HMOs" JAMA 282(2); July 14, 1999 > > > For-Profit Medicare Plans Cost 11 Percent More Than Traditional Medicare > MedPac Report, Jun 9, 2006 >
