Name:   copperline - Subject:   Obama economy legacy building Date:   4/23/2016 1:45:08 PM

All considered, it is a better safety net than what we had before but could still use some serious work.      A family without $400 to pay in deductibles will still have emergencies, only now the greater portion of that cost will be covered by insurance.   I have a higher deductible on my policy now, its true.   The trade off is that the health care system isn't struggling with a huge burden of unpaid medical care that has the effect of raising prices for healthcare across the board.    I think its important to bear in mind that the deductibles are set by the insurance companies, not by the government...   they have always been used for a couple of reasons:    1) to make customers carry a larger share of the cost of their healthcare, 2) to make customers think twice about using their insurance & diminishing utilization and 3) to enhance or protect the profit margins of the insurers.

And as regards comparing the effects of competition on the health care industry and the automobile industry, I'll stand by what I said.   If the US population is growing, and more people are in need of healthcare... if more hospitals are built, more doctors trained... if more advances in medical technology make for greater efficiencies... then why would healthcare costs have been going up so dramatically?  UAB, St. Vincent's & Brookwood Hospitals just sued (and lost to) Trinity Medical in Birmingham to prevent them from moving & expanding Grandview Hospital in Birmingham... they were using the argument that this would adversely affect healthcare, and increase upward pressure on their cost of operation.    How could that be true if more consumer demand leads to more hospital beds and the cost controling effects of supply & demand?      With the existance of health insurance corporations, the law of supply & demand just doesn't affect the healthcare industry in the same way, and that completely undercuts the argument that pure capitalism can provide the basic economic structure needed for a decent national healthcare policy...while it would makeshealth insurance available to only a portion of the people... who are selected & cherry-picked by virtue of insurance policy restrictions.... that shrinking group of insured people always would be those with less need of coverage ... until, that is, they could be eliminated from the insurance roles by their pre-existing conditions, life time maximums, or selectively uninsured medical conditions.   

If your car breaks down, a car dealer sees that as an opportunity to sell you repair services & make a profit.     If you get sick, the first thing insurance companies do is try to find a way to avoid paying your claims.   It ain't the same business model by any stretch.  

One thing is for sure.   I'd rather not have insurance corporations responsible for writing our national healthcare polcies.   They don't do so with the best interests of consumers as their primary concern.