The Homa Files

Punchline: the uninsured already receive about 50 percent to 70 percent of the care of the insured from hospitals, clinics and doctors

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Excerpted from Newsweek: The Illusion of ‘Reform, March 15, 2010

You probably heard that insuring the uninsured will dramatically improve the nation’s health.

The uninsured don’t get care or don’t get it soon enough. With insurance, they won’t be shortchanged; they’ll be healthier. Simple.

Think again.

Expanding health insurance would result, at best, in modest health gains.

Why ? 

• many uninsured are fairly healthy — about two-fifths are between 18 and 34;
• some are too sick to be helped;
• some have problems rooted in personal behaviors — smoking, diet, drinking or drug abuse; and
• the uninsured already receive about 50 percent to 70 percent of the care of the insured from hospitals, clinics and doctors.

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Whatever their sins, insurers are mainly intermediaries; they pass along the costs of the delivery system.

In 2009, the largest 14 insurers had profits of roughly $9 billion; that approached 0.4 percent of total health spending of $2.472 trillion.

This hardly explains high health costs.

Full article:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/03/15/obamas_health_proposal_is_the_illusion_of_reform.html

This entry was posted on March 18, 2010 at 7:23 am and is filed under Health Care / Medical Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.