Does Obamacare really care?

[ConservativeDemocrat]

54. Public option is a public INSURANCE option...

It still wouldn't affect what the providers themselves charge.

I mean sure. Insurance companies can have up to 15% overhead (it's typically much lower), whereas Medicare runs at about 3.5%-5%, depending on where you ask, but basically that's at most a 10% reduction. So even ideally, instead of $10,000, you'd be paying $9,000.

The real cost drivers these days are: 1) No limits on drug prices and artificial monopolies, 2) Absurdly high price and restrictions on medical schools restricting doctors, 3) "Cadillac" bargaining when covered by insurance, 4) Intense expense near the end of life when people are in a death spiral anyway (instead of health activities younger on). Medicare is at this point basically a charity for most doctors - it's basically not worth it, and many don't take patients due to it.

(Had a friend in Britain say all his doctor families moved to the US because salaries were 3 times higher. We pay that. And no, insurance companies, evil boo hiss, don't control that)

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community