Hey Mr. President
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The problem is during the campaign he said lower cost. Never saying it had to go up before going down. Also I am not paying a bit, I am paying a lot. Please note that if you needed emergency care and could not afford it, you did not have to pay. Long term care has been a problem.
djj55 wrote:
Please note that if you needed emergency care and could not afford it, you did not have to pay.
Of course "afford it" means different things to different people. So for example some people don't consider losing their homes due to medical costs as being something they can "afford".
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djj55 wrote:
he said lower cost
:-D Well, I have never seen a system where you need less money to finance extra needs...
djj55 wrote:
I am paying a lot
I wonder how much that is. As a comparison. 22% of my monthly income goes to the Health care system. My employer has to pay an amount equivalent to about 50% of this income as well.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus Do not feed the troll ! - Common proverb
Rage wrote:
Well, I have never seen a system where you need less money to finance extra needs...
However there is at least one source that suggests that 1/3 of the medical costs in the US are due to inefficiencies. So one might suppose that savings are possible.
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Who would of thought that adding 30 million free loaders to the roles would cause premiums to go up
reilly96 wrote:
Who would of thought that adding 30 million free loaders to the roles would cause premiums to go up
Rather certain that the "free loaders" were already on the "roles". I am not sure about the additional numbers that are now insured but I do know one group which is those that the insurance industry absolutely refused to insure due to pre-existing medical conditions. Not sure that those are really "free loaders" though.
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djj55 wrote:
My premiums went up again, my co-pays also went up.
This implies they were not going up before and I call BS on that. Take a look around. Its the pharmaceutics industry that you should be griping about. They have a grip on the federal regulations, doctors, Insurance companies, and even the Universities. Nothing is "discovered", released, covered by insurance, or tried by the public with out their OK. The last 2 years are the first years I have seen my premiums not rise by double digit % and my deductible actually stayed the same. Complaining that your insurance still went up with Health care reform is like complaining you still got bit by a mosquito after your community sprays bug killer.
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
Collin Jasnoch wrote:
is implies they were not going up before and I call BS on that.
You mean the current president isn't responsible for the past 15 years of medical cost increases? And the current president also isn't responsible for the actions of Congress for the last 15 years?
Collin Jasnoch wrote:
They have a grip on the federal regulations, doctors, Insurance companies, and even the Universities.
Pretty sure insurance companies are also making a profit.
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Collin Jasnoch wrote:
is implies they were not going up before and I call BS on that.
You mean the current president isn't responsible for the past 15 years of medical cost increases? And the current president also isn't responsible for the actions of Congress for the last 15 years?
Collin Jasnoch wrote:
They have a grip on the federal regulations, doctors, Insurance companies, and even the Universities.
Pretty sure insurance companies are also making a profit.
jschell wrote:
You mean the current president isn't responsible for the past 15 years of medical cost increases?
And the current president also isn't responsible for the actions of Congress for the last 15 years?Stop passing the blame! He is the president now so certainly it is his fault ;)
jschell wrote:
Pretty sure insurance companies are also making a profit.
They most certainly are. But I flag them and the pharmaceutics industry as the same dudes are on the boards of each in many cases. Insurance refuses specific treatments because the pharmaceuticals do not make profit from it and insurance covers treatments that the pharmaceuticals are profiting heavily from. Often these are "treatments" (covered) vs. prevention and potential cures (not covered).
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
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A 5% raise (per year) is not a problem but a 20% raise is. Example doctor co-pay five years ago $10, today $30. This year specialist co-pay $50, next year $60. Five years ago specialist was $10.
djj55 wrote:
A 5% raise (per year) is not a problem but a 20% raise is.
First off you are ignoring the cost to your employer and as well as ignoring how your employer passes those costs along to you. Second in the past 8 years the total cost has gone up every year by more than 5%. Which far exceeds inflation and employee income increases. Third, yes an unending 5% increase when there is almost a zero percent inflation is in fact a problem for any commodity item.
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If you re-read my post I did not say the plan caused it. I said I was waiting for the savings to start. Yes I implied the Act is the reason but I did not say so. :)
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djj55 wrote:
If you re-read my post I did not say the plan caused it.
So what did you mean then when you said "Thank you so much for the Health Care Reform"?
Ah, that is the question!
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djj55 wrote:
A 5% raise (per year) is not a problem but a 20% raise is. Example doctor co-pay five years ago $10, today $30. This year specialist co-pay $50, next year $60. Five years ago specialist was $10.
If you are seeing a 20% raise in co-pay that sucks. But that is not necessarily because of healthcare reform. It is because the insurance you are provided decided to up the cost pre-emptively because they do not know what it will cost them. While you can say that it is inderectly related to the affordable health care act it is directly related to the insurance you are provided not knowing how to stop screwing people over. Rather than cutting the bonuses etc. they are raising your cost. Fortunately you are now protected as long as the state you live in is not retarded and atttempting to rebel against the act.
Quote:
Bringing Down Health Care Premiums. To ensure premium dollars are spent primarily on health care, the law generally requires that at least 85% of all premium dollars collected by insurance companies for large employer plans are spent on health care services and health care quality improvement. For plans sold to individuals and small employers, at least 80% of the premium must be spent on benefits and quality improvement. If insurance companies do not meet these goals, because their administrative costs or profits are too high, they must provide rebates to consumers. Effective January 1, 2011. Fact Sheet: Getting Your Money's Worth on Health Insurance.
It is also possible that your insurance is not complying with the act because a lot of the enforcement depends on your state being on board. You may want to check ( or already know ) where the politics of your state fall. Here is why that is important:
Quote:
Holding Insurance Companies Accountable for Unreasonable Rate Hikes. The law allows states that have, or plan to implement, measures that require insurance companies to justify their premium increases will be eligible for $250 million in new grants. Insurance companies with excessive or unjustified premium exchanges may not be able to participate in the new health insurance Exchanges in 2014. Grants awarded beginning in 2010.
You can read through the other highlights of the act here. http://www.healthcare.gov/law/timeline/full.html[
So what was to be expected when the insurance companies were required to spend 80-85% on benefits, leaving only a 15-20% profit margin, without any controls as to how much they could increase their premiums? That is before the Act takes effect. I believe there are controls after it takes effect. So if an insurance company was making a 30% profit margin before the "Act" and wanted to maintain the same dollar amount profit after the "Act", then they necessarily will have to raise premiums. So on $1000 premium with 30% profit margin, that's $300 profit. Now to keep that same dollar amount with a 20% profit margin requires raising premiums to $1500, a 50% increase! (Do the math $300/.2 = 1500). I have no idea what profit margins the insurance companies are making, but that's what's going on. So, in my opinion, premiums are rising higher faster in direct consequence of the Act. Because insurance companies rightly fear a direct hit to their bottom lines once the Act fully takes effect with it's disallowance of preexisting condition exclusions and lifetime caps. All those new sick people have to be paid for somehow!
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein -
djj55 wrote:
A 5% raise (per year) is not a problem but a 20% raise is.
First off you are ignoring the cost to your employer and as well as ignoring how your employer passes those costs along to you. Second in the past 8 years the total cost has gone up every year by more than 5%. Which far exceeds inflation and employee income increases. Third, yes an unending 5% increase when there is almost a zero percent inflation is in fact a problem for any commodity item.
It wouldn't be a problem if there were true competition. When they all raise rates in concert then there's nowhere else to go. I'm not suggestion collusion, but one wonders. Another problem is that most of the time you don't know beforehand what something is going to cost before you need the medical problem taken care of. It's like going to the grocery store with no prices on the shelves, filling up your cart, going home with the groceries and getting a $10,000 bill in the mail two months later after you've already eaten everything. It's not like you can regurgitate it all and give it back because it costs too much. So, lack of competition in two ways: you're locked-in insurance-wise to a particular insurer, oftentimes because it's supplied by your workplace, or because everyone-else is raising premiums too. Second, there's no readily available price information from doctors and other healthcare providers.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein -
Dear President Obama, Thank you so much for the Health Care Reform. My premiums went up again, my co-pays also went up. I think with the savings you promised I may need to start skipping lunch! :mad: I hope I can live long enough to see the "savings".
I wonder how much of that increase is because of your company increasing your share. That's happened to me as well, but an equal amount was because the company just passed their increase on to the employees so their cost would remain the same.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein -
So what was to be expected when the insurance companies were required to spend 80-85% on benefits, leaving only a 15-20% profit margin, without any controls as to how much they could increase their premiums? That is before the Act takes effect. I believe there are controls after it takes effect. So if an insurance company was making a 30% profit margin before the "Act" and wanted to maintain the same dollar amount profit after the "Act", then they necessarily will have to raise premiums. So on $1000 premium with 30% profit margin, that's $300 profit. Now to keep that same dollar amount with a 20% profit margin requires raising premiums to $1500, a 50% increase! (Do the math $300/.2 = 1500). I have no idea what profit margins the insurance companies are making, but that's what's going on. So, in my opinion, premiums are rising higher faster in direct consequence of the Act. Because insurance companies rightly fear a direct hit to their bottom lines once the Act fully takes effect with it's disallowance of preexisting condition exclusions and lifetime caps. All those new sick people have to be paid for somehow!
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einsteinahmed zahmed wrote:
So what was to be expected when the insurance companies were required to spend 80-85% on benefits, leaving only a 15-20% profit margin, without any controls as to how much they could increase their premiums?
Seriously? You are saying that a multi-billion dollar industry is going to get any sympathay when their "PROFITS" are reduced from 30% to 15%. Sorry but no sympathy from me. Most profitable businesses operate at single digit profit margins (some are based in the fractional percent).
ahmed zahmed wrote:
So if an insurance company was making a 30% profit margin before the "Act" and wanted to maintain the same dollar amount profit after the "Act", then they necessarily will have to raise premiums.
No. You do not understand. They are not allowed to pull in that much profit. It is quite simple. If they profited that much it means they shafted the consumers and the act is attempting to prevent that.
ahmed zahmed wrote:
So on $1000 premium with 30% profit margin, that's $300 profit. Now to keep that same dollar amount with a 20% profit margin requires raising premiums to $1500, a 50% increase! (Do the math $300/.2 = 1500).
That's not how it works. It caps the profit. So if they are getting $300 off of $1000 then they must reduce the premium not increase. In other words $700 actually went to cost and $700 is 85% of $823 meaning your premium will go down by $177. A profit is the take home AFTER the costs. While it may be consumed by their overhead, the act forces them to operate at no more than 15% margin. If they can not do that now they will pay it out later (refunds). So they can certainly take the $300 but then they must reimburse the difference. What you are saying is the actual COST of the coverage is increasing because of it. That is not true. The medicine does not cost more to manufacture and distribute because of the act.
ahmed zahmed wrote:
I have no idea what profit margins the insurance companies are making, but that's what's going on. So, in my opinion, premiums are rising higher faster in direct consequence of the Act.
Any increase in premium that is claimed because of the act is because of "unknown". It is a scam that the insurance is doing to counteract what the act is doing. In the end they will still pay out assuming the ac
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reilly96 wrote:
Who would of thought that adding 30 million free loaders to the roles would cause premiums to go up
Rather certain that the "free loaders" were already on the "roles". I am not sure about the additional numbers that are now insured but I do know one group which is those that the insurance industry absolutely refused to insure due to pre-existing medical conditions. Not sure that those are really "free loaders" though.
Calling them "free-loaders" does seem a bit much. Oftentimes those with pre-existing conditions couldn't get any insurance at all (at least for themselves). So then they get treated by the "emergency" system. And often those costs are passed-on to the rest of us because they can't afford the bill. I rather doubt there's 30 million though...
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein -
ahmed zahmed wrote:
So what was to be expected when the insurance companies were required to spend 80-85% on benefits, leaving only a 15-20% profit margin, without any controls as to how much they could increase their premiums?
Seriously? You are saying that a multi-billion dollar industry is going to get any sympathay when their "PROFITS" are reduced from 30% to 15%. Sorry but no sympathy from me. Most profitable businesses operate at single digit profit margins (some are based in the fractional percent).
ahmed zahmed wrote:
So if an insurance company was making a 30% profit margin before the "Act" and wanted to maintain the same dollar amount profit after the "Act", then they necessarily will have to raise premiums.
No. You do not understand. They are not allowed to pull in that much profit. It is quite simple. If they profited that much it means they shafted the consumers and the act is attempting to prevent that.
ahmed zahmed wrote:
So on $1000 premium with 30% profit margin, that's $300 profit. Now to keep that same dollar amount with a 20% profit margin requires raising premiums to $1500, a 50% increase! (Do the math $300/.2 = 1500).
That's not how it works. It caps the profit. So if they are getting $300 off of $1000 then they must reduce the premium not increase. In other words $700 actually went to cost and $700 is 85% of $823 meaning your premium will go down by $177. A profit is the take home AFTER the costs. While it may be consumed by their overhead, the act forces them to operate at no more than 15% margin. If they can not do that now they will pay it out later (refunds). So they can certainly take the $300 but then they must reimburse the difference. What you are saying is the actual COST of the coverage is increasing because of it. That is not true. The medicine does not cost more to manufacture and distribute because of the act.
ahmed zahmed wrote:
I have no idea what profit margins the insurance companies are making, but that's what's going on. So, in my opinion, premiums are rising higher faster in direct consequence of the Act.
Any increase in premium that is claimed because of the act is because of "unknown". It is a scam that the insurance is doing to counteract what the act is doing. In the end they will still pay out assuming the ac
Absolutely agree with most of what you said. But this is happening BEFORE the Act takes effect. So, yes it is exactly how it works. The restrictions on "legitimate" increases are not in place yet. So yes, insurance companies are taking advantage of that "loophole" to increase premiums NOW before they can't increase them LATER. The controls you mention are not in place yet. I think you misunderstand me. I have no sympathies for insurance companies and view them as "legalized" protectionist rackets. And yes, I do believe they're taking advantage of us and giving us the shaft. Act, or no Act. It will continue. I'm just pointing out the current reality. Not how it will be after the Act takes place. Yes, we are being preemptively screwed, and I blame Obamacare.
Collin Jasnoch wrote:
Most profitable businesses operate at single digit profit margins
Seriously? I think you're out of touch with reality. Most business operate with at least a 15-20% profit margin. I read recently where Microsoft has a profit margin above 70%. Most electronics and computer outfits have a profit margin exceeding 50%. The average net profits of a small manufacturing wood products business, with $2 million in revenue annually, according to the website "Biz Stats," is 14.56 percent per year. Medical equipment and suppliers, with $2 million in revenue, have a net profit margin of 26.95 percent annually. By contrast, computer and electronics products return a net profit of 53.94 percent, and the food processing sector, according to "Biz Stats," has a net profit margin of 10.28 percent.[^]
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein -
Absolutely agree with most of what you said. But this is happening BEFORE the Act takes effect. So, yes it is exactly how it works. The restrictions on "legitimate" increases are not in place yet. So yes, insurance companies are taking advantage of that "loophole" to increase premiums NOW before they can't increase them LATER. The controls you mention are not in place yet. I think you misunderstand me. I have no sympathies for insurance companies and view them as "legalized" protectionist rackets. And yes, I do believe they're taking advantage of us and giving us the shaft. Act, or no Act. It will continue. I'm just pointing out the current reality. Not how it will be after the Act takes place. Yes, we are being preemptively screwed, and I blame Obamacare.
Collin Jasnoch wrote:
Most profitable businesses operate at single digit profit margins
Seriously? I think you're out of touch with reality. Most business operate with at least a 15-20% profit margin. I read recently where Microsoft has a profit margin above 70%. Most electronics and computer outfits have a profit margin exceeding 50%. The average net profits of a small manufacturing wood products business, with $2 million in revenue annually, according to the website "Biz Stats," is 14.56 percent per year. Medical equipment and suppliers, with $2 million in revenue, have a net profit margin of 26.95 percent annually. By contrast, computer and electronics products return a net profit of 53.94 percent, and the food processing sector, according to "Biz Stats," has a net profit margin of 10.28 percent.[^]
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einsteinahmed zahmed wrote:
I have no sympathies for insurance companies and view them as "legalized" protectionist rackets
They are as evil as they come IMO.
ahmed zahmed wrote:
And yes, I do believe they're taking advantage of us and giving us the shaft. Act, or no Act. It will continue. I'm just pointing out the current reality. Not how it will be after the Act takes place. Yes, we are being preemptively screwed, and I blame Obamacare.
Profit caps went into place in 2011. Not one of the first things (started in 2010) but it was right there. Any effects you are seeing now are likely fraudulent and will come back at them. Blaming the act seems silly. If standards are set by a regulation and those that are required to meet those standards push to take advantage of loopholes on the standards it is not the regulation that is at fault. The fact is those standards needed to be met and now shady execs don't get to buy their 10th home in the hamptons so the frick the public. No. That is not the regulations fault. That is the idiot execs fault. A loophole has no fault. Those that exploit it do.
ahmed zahmed wrote:
Seriously? I think you're out of touch with reality. Most business operate with at least a 15-20% profit margin. I read recently where Microsoft has a profit margin above 70%. Most electronics and computer outfits have a profit margin exceeding 50%.
You are comparing "most" businesses to the most profitable industry of the last decade. Psttt. Please. Most businesses are small mom and pops or franchise shops of which all operate at very small profit margins. I think it is you that is slightly out of touch with reality in thinking that those profits are a norm OR that those profits should be a norm. If a company is ranking in that much someone is getting screwed. I will give you "99" guesses as to who that is.
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
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It wouldn't be a problem if there were true competition. When they all raise rates in concert then there's nowhere else to go. I'm not suggestion collusion, but one wonders. Another problem is that most of the time you don't know beforehand what something is going to cost before you need the medical problem taken care of. It's like going to the grocery store with no prices on the shelves, filling up your cart, going home with the groceries and getting a $10,000 bill in the mail two months later after you've already eaten everything. It's not like you can regurgitate it all and give it back because it costs too much. So, lack of competition in two ways: you're locked-in insurance-wise to a particular insurer, oftentimes because it's supplied by your workplace, or because everyone-else is raising premiums too. Second, there's no readily available price information from doctors and other healthcare providers.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einsteinahmed zahmed wrote:
Another problem is that most of the time you don't know beforehand what something is going to cost before you need the medical problem taken care of. It's like going to the grocery store with no prices on the shelves, filling up your cart, going home with the groceries and getting a $10,000 bill in the mail two months later after you've already eaten everything. It's not like you can regurgitate it all and give it back because it costs too much.
In comparison it would be quite amusing to see a world where you walked in to a clinic and there were aisles of pictures showing the procedure and a price tag with something you grabbed. Pick a few here and there and to the cash register you go. Pay your bill take the tags to the doctor and end up with a couple fingers up your butt. Hmmm this colonoscopy seems a bit off. Can I exchange it for a visectomy?
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
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ahmed zahmed wrote:
Another problem is that most of the time you don't know beforehand what something is going to cost before you need the medical problem taken care of. It's like going to the grocery store with no prices on the shelves, filling up your cart, going home with the groceries and getting a $10,000 bill in the mail two months later after you've already eaten everything. It's not like you can regurgitate it all and give it back because it costs too much.
In comparison it would be quite amusing to see a world where you walked in to a clinic and there were aisles of pictures showing the procedure and a price tag with something you grabbed. Pick a few here and there and to the cash register you go. Pay your bill take the tags to the doctor and end up with a couple fingers up your butt. Hmmm this colonoscopy seems a bit off. Can I exchange it for a visectomy?
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
Yes, that does seem a bit silly. Just trying to make a valid comparison. Maybe I failed. Anyway it is a problem.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein -
ahmed zahmed wrote:
I have no sympathies for insurance companies and view them as "legalized" protectionist rackets
They are as evil as they come IMO.
ahmed zahmed wrote:
And yes, I do believe they're taking advantage of us and giving us the shaft. Act, or no Act. It will continue. I'm just pointing out the current reality. Not how it will be after the Act takes place. Yes, we are being preemptively screwed, and I blame Obamacare.
Profit caps went into place in 2011. Not one of the first things (started in 2010) but it was right there. Any effects you are seeing now are likely fraudulent and will come back at them. Blaming the act seems silly. If standards are set by a regulation and those that are required to meet those standards push to take advantage of loopholes on the standards it is not the regulation that is at fault. The fact is those standards needed to be met and now shady execs don't get to buy their 10th home in the hamptons so the frick the public. No. That is not the regulations fault. That is the idiot execs fault. A loophole has no fault. Those that exploit it do.
ahmed zahmed wrote:
Seriously? I think you're out of touch with reality. Most business operate with at least a 15-20% profit margin. I read recently where Microsoft has a profit margin above 70%. Most electronics and computer outfits have a profit margin exceeding 50%.
You are comparing "most" businesses to the most profitable industry of the last decade. Psttt. Please. Most businesses are small mom and pops or franchise shops of which all operate at very small profit margins. I think it is you that is slightly out of touch with reality in thinking that those profits are a norm OR that those profits should be a norm. If a company is ranking in that much someone is getting screwed. I will give you "99" guesses as to who that is.
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
Hmm, after a bit of research, I find you are correct about the price caps already being in place. I thought the caps didn't go into place until 2014. :-O :~ Can't explain the recent increases then. Some may be legitimate. I wonder though how much of the "increase" is due to the employer passing on some of their costs to the employee. It's happened to me before (even before the ACA was a wet dream in the politician's eyes). I'm not comparing any businesses. Do a bit of research on profit margins. And I don't consider Mom and Pop or franchise shops part of the conversation because the vast majority won't be required to provide health insurance under the ACA. I don't know what profits would or should be a "norm". Just repeating what I've found. And I don't think the gov't should be telling any business how much they should be making. BTW, the 15-20% "margin" required by the ACA also included things like administrative costs. The 80-85% is what must be spent purely on medical care alone. All other costs, such as salaries, bonuses, commissions, and other "administrative" costs must come from the 15-20%. But, did you know that self-insured employers, which cover more than half the nation’s workers, are exempt from the new rule, as are Medicare and Medicaid? So, the one who may be "screwing you over" may be your own employer...
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein -
Yes, that does seem a bit silly. Just trying to make a valid comparison. Maybe I failed. Anyway it is a problem.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert EinsteinNa you had a point. It just made me think of such a silly situation. It does suck though how the health industry works. There is nothing you can do and need there service. They can then charge you after the fact whatever and you are stuck with it. IMO this is the reason most hate clinics and hospitals. Not the needles etc., its the fear of the cost of those needles after they were used.
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
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Hmm, after a bit of research, I find you are correct about the price caps already being in place. I thought the caps didn't go into place until 2014. :-O :~ Can't explain the recent increases then. Some may be legitimate. I wonder though how much of the "increase" is due to the employer passing on some of their costs to the employee. It's happened to me before (even before the ACA was a wet dream in the politician's eyes). I'm not comparing any businesses. Do a bit of research on profit margins. And I don't consider Mom and Pop or franchise shops part of the conversation because the vast majority won't be required to provide health insurance under the ACA. I don't know what profits would or should be a "norm". Just repeating what I've found. And I don't think the gov't should be telling any business how much they should be making. BTW, the 15-20% "margin" required by the ACA also included things like administrative costs. The 80-85% is what must be spent purely on medical care alone. All other costs, such as salaries, bonuses, commissions, and other "administrative" costs must come from the 15-20%. But, did you know that self-insured employers, which cover more than half the nation’s workers, are exempt from the new rule, as are Medicare and Medicaid? So, the one who may be "screwing you over" may be your own employer...
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einsteinahmed zahmed wrote:
And I don't consider Mom and Pop or franchise shops part of the conversation because the vast majority won't be required to provide health insurance under the ACA.
Thats true, but I was more thinking your local stores like grocery (which could have 50 employees) and restaurants. Those are the more common businesses and their operating profits is single digit if they are lucky.
ahmed zahmed wrote:
But, did you know that self-insured employers, which cover more than half the nation’s workers, are exempt from the new rule, as are Medicare and Medicaid? So, the one who may be "screwing you over" may be your own employer...
Yep. A few years back the company I worked for had such a plan. It wasn't horrible, but yeah they were the ones "screwing" you. Sort of. It is their plan but they work with an actual provider to create it usually.
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.