Bloomberg News Announces It Will Not Investigate Mike Bloomberg,

[dryheat]

Health care here is expensive because we aren't a third world place. Move to Africa, you get a discount on HIV prescriptions. Health care might not be so expensive if 80 yrs olds didn't want heart transplants. Trump respects power. I am impressed that the Chinese haven't lost their temper with the HK protesters. The protesters are feverent and that's what it takes to make change. But they don't have Bob Dylan or PP&M. 799 million people can't just "do their thing". But I know it will all work out for Hong Kong. Asians seem to know what it takes to make a large country with lots of people work well. Guns. Well, I don't know.

[Gun Smoke]

My healthcare doubled over a 3 year period due to obamacare and this was under a group plan. Obamacare raised the price of everyone's insurance (who paid). This was long before Trump got elected.

[lyman]

My healthcare doubled over a 3 year period due to obamacare and this was under a group plan. Obamacare raised the price of everyone's insurance (who paid). This was long before Trump got elected.

mine has increased, but not doubled,
wife is on a plan thru her employer, they have switched providers a couple times to get a better deal, yet each better deal still costs more,

[Vern Humphrey]

My healthcare doubled over a 3 year period due to obamacare and this was under a group plan. Obamacare raised the price of everyone's insurance (who paid). This was long before Trump got elected.

From one third to one half of the cost of health care is due to the complex paperwork in the system.

True Medical Savings Accounts

The fundamental principle behind True Medical Savings Accounts (TMSA) is that it allows people to pay for medical care with tax-free dollars, and to roll any unused dollars over at the end of each year into their IRAs. Under this proposal, each individual would buy a low-cost Catastrophic Health Insurance policy – with a high deductible. He would then save pre-tax an amount equal to the deductible. When the deductible in the TMSA is spent, the Catastrophic Health Insurance policy would cover additional costs.

Any money unspent at the end of the year would roll over into their IRAs – so people would use the same dollars for both health insurance and retirement savings.

The institution holding their TMSA would issue a credit card, and this card would be used to pay for health care. This would have several important impacts:

1. Paperwork makes up from one-third (in private health plans) to one-half (in government programs) of the total cost of health care. The use of this credit card approach would dramatically reduce the paperwork and result in lower costs.

2. The current systems of paying for health care have long delays built in. No small businessman could ever survive in the slow-pay environment of the health care industry. How do health care givers survive? By raising prices!! The pay-on-the-spot approach would allow care providers to further lower costs.

3. Under the current system, there is no incentive for people to bargain for health care – because the insurance company pays the costs. Similarly, there is no incentive for providers to lower their charges, because the insurance rates are known. But when people spend their own money (and know they can keep all they save), they have an incentive to bargain for better rates.

4. Similarly, there is no incentive to avoid over-consumption of medical care under the present system. Many people feel, ”I pay the insurance premium. I should get my money’s worth!” But if people know that by staying in bed, drinking lots of fluid and taking an aspirin, they will get to roll over the money saved into their IRAs, they have an incentive not to over-consume.

Those who cannot save the deductible can apply for support by submitting a current tax return. Based on your declared income, you will receive a certain percentage of assistance. But each time you went to the doctor, SOME of the money paid him would be YOUR money – so all the incentives still apply.

[Roadkingtrax]

Vern, you're just describing the tenants of a HDHP.

The tax shelter is great, but it falls short with the availability of transferable investments. For what it's worth, it doesnt take much to wipe out the account on an annual basis, even with an employer contribution. You can pay yourself back by funneling money through the account, which is nice. Otherwise, with any chronic illness...its a piss poor investment. The worst thing ACA ever did was presume the uninsured were healthy, which shifted the burden to everyone (kinda like what all insurance does).

I'd rather have the diversity of traditional investments, and have a lower deductible coupled with a better HMO.