Reply #58: A question, jwirr: Have you ever know insurance premiums to go down?

[reprobate]

After twenty years in the business I can't recall them ever doing so. Overhead for insurance companies is an ever increasing cost, so premiums always trend up.

If you are referring to the 'pool' being larger, that would be true if it were a single payer system, but they specifically rejected single payer so that wouldn't help. In fact, I would bet that with mandatory insurance you'll see MORE carriers competing for business in the state rather than fewer, resulting in each carrier's pool being smaller and having an upward pressure on premiums.

It's easy to see the insurance industry's influence in this legislation.

Although I know only what the article said about the bill, it's apparent that everything possible has been done to increase profits for the insurance industry. Even to subsidizing premiums for the poor. I'm sure that's proper use of taxpayer funds, to ensure the profits of private industry. What a shame. What a fiasco.

After so long in the industry I have come to the conclusion that private industry has no logical part in health care finance. They have no incentive to improve health care or outcomes for the patient, but every incentive to lower costs which improve their bottom line. That's no way to run railroad!

Every other nation in the world has found the single payer system to be the only workable system to finance health care. Only the United Corporate States of America still insists that the profit motive be used to keep us alive.

I'm reminded of what Winston Churchill once said of us. "You can always count on America to do the right thing......after they've tried EVERYTHING ELSE."