Two tier health care
Were is my flaw in logic here.
Currently the rich can pay out of pocket for healthcare and get anything immediately.
So access for them is not an issue and they are small in number.
Now say Canada opens up the health care system and allows private insurance. So now there is a public system and a private system. You can only go to the private clinic if you have insurance. The insurance companies want people who won't use the healthcare services so they can make a profit. So they will mostly take healthy middle class people (assume the lower class can't afford it easily). Most of these insured people will still go to the public system (to avoid increased premiums) for small things (cost to the public system). If they need something big they will likely go to the private clinic but this will be rare since the insurers will insure people who are unlikely to need something. The public system will be diluted since less money will be given (since people paying for insurance will likely get tax breaks or something) and will still be paying for some on insurance but using the system.
So basically what I am saying since the insurers only want people who won't use there services, so we will divert doctors and resources (taxes will become insurance payments) and the only people that will be taken out of the public system are the healthy middle class and rich.
Currently the rich can pay out of pocket for healthcare and get anything immediately.
So access for them is not an issue and they are small in number.
Now say Canada opens up the health care system and allows private insurance. So now there is a public system and a private system. You can only go to the private clinic if you have insurance. The insurance companies want people who won't use the healthcare services so they can make a profit. So they will mostly take healthy middle class people (assume the lower class can't afford it easily). Most of these insured people will still go to the public system (to avoid increased premiums) for small things (cost to the public system). If they need something big they will likely go to the private clinic but this will be rare since the insurers will insure people who are unlikely to need something. The public system will be diluted since less money will be given (since people paying for insurance will likely get tax breaks or something) and will still be paying for some on insurance but using the system.
So basically what I am saying since the insurers only want people who won't use there services, so we will divert doctors and resources (taxes will become insurance payments) and the only people that will be taken out of the public system are the healthy middle class and rich.
posted by Eddie | 6:46 PM
3 Comments:
"The insurance companies want people who won't use the healthcare services so they can make a profit."
That's not how insurance works. Insurance companies take anyone, they'll just charge higher premiums for people who are expected to make higher claims. It's the same as car insurance.
"The public system will be diluted since less money will be given (since people paying for insurance will likely get tax breaks or something) and will still be paying for some on insurance but using the system."
What you're saying just doesn't add up. Think about it; If someone pays an extra $1000 for private insurance they'll only get a tax break on that $1000. If you're in the 40% tax bracket, that means you save $400 dollars in taxes but no matter what, you'll never save more than what you paid. So the government only loses a fraction of that $1000 in taxes, but the insurance company will have to pay for $1000 worth of medical care.
So if you think it's a net loss for the public system, then you have to answer one question. That person is paying more than before. After taxes, about $600 more. So where does the extra money go? Every dollar that's not spent on medical care must be profit for the insurance company. And corporate profit gets taxed once at the corporate level and once when it's paid out in salaries or dividends. So no matter what, the government will get the same amount (or more) in taxes. If you disagree, tell me where the extra $600 went.
Now here's my big problem with your logic: "So basically what I am saying since the insurers only want people who won't use there services, so we will divert doctors and resources"
When say it's diverting resources, you're still thinking of centralized planning and ignoring the way free markets work. If you create more demand for services, the market will produce more supply. If private insurance increases the demand for hospital equipment and drugs, then more companies will start producing those things. Have you ever heard of a shortage of cars or cell phones? No because that's done by the free market. The only things we have a shortage of are those things controlled by the government: medical care, good schools and so on.
Oh wait, almost forgot one: good airlines. Both in the US and Canada, people scream about losing their jobs every time an airline goes bankrupt, and the government steps in to "help out". So what you get is shitty airlines that keep running long after they should closed down, and good airlines that can't compete with them because the shitty ones get government help.
Now ask yourself, why do people bitch so much about airline service but not about taxi service? Because when a taxi company sucks they go out of business.
I think that europe has come up with some interested ideas that balance social nets with capitalism.
Personally, I waited 6 months for my deviated septum in Canada. Then I moved, so I don't know what the final wait would have been. The doctor had no incentive at all to do my operation. Over 6 months, the bones settle more and more into their bent position. So when the operation is done, the net outcome is not as good as if I had paid someone something extra to make them do it quicker!
In america, I got an appointment to do it 7 days later. I probably could have gotten it next day if I pushed it.
So I want a health system that maximized my health! It just doesn't work if there are wait lists that are a year long. But if I am going to circumvent the public system for some operations and not others, it seems like I am gaming the system.
In Germany, I think that you can opt for private insurance. HOWEVER! Once you choose private insurance, you lose your public insurance, and you CAN'T GO BACK! So you have to be damned sure that you have the money to take care of yourself in the future without dumping your medical costs back on the same poor schleps who were in the wait queue when you got that speedy operation.
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