Why are Medicare and Medicaid less efficient and more costly than private plans?

You are very mistaken, mdrobster.

And here why.

It is obvious you know ansolutely nothing about the efficiencies our free enterprise system.

Many liberals hear the work “profit” and they literally become apoplectic. They believe it this the government’s role to over regulate our economy until they can squeeze every ounce of profit out of it.

What many people do not realize is the profit motive associated with capitalism is good in that it forces a business to streamline its operations and deliver its consumer products to its customers at the least expensive possible price. This is of particular importance to poor Americans and senior Americans who must live each day on their limited retirement incomes.

Wal-Mart and The Apple Stores are two very good examples. Because of innovations such as computerized inventory management, just-in-time product delivery and their ability to purchase large volumes of commercial products from their vendors, Wal-Mart is able to sell its products at the lowest possible cost to its customers.

If the government provided these same services to the public, they would do so with much less efficiency and with a much higher cost to American consumers than does Wal-Mart. The reason for this is the government is not concerned with making a profit or streamlining its operations and operates its “business” as if it were a monopoly.

Consequently, there are no stringent cost savings considerations or strict accountability to its “shareholders”(the taxpayers) when it comes to how a government entity performs its functions. They consequently would purchase more products then they could possibly sell to their consumers, saddle their vendors with costly and unnecessary contractual specifications and paperwork (adds greatly to the cost of the commercial products), hire too many people, pay them too much money and pass these unreasonable costs on to the consumer. The U.S. Post Office, the Walter Reed Army hospital (now closed) and Am-Track are three perfect examples of government entities with these kinds of avoidable and unnecessary inefficiencies.

These inefficiencies and costly requirements do nothing more than drive up the cost the public has to pay for these commercial products. As a result, Wal-Mart is able to sell these same products to the public (the consumers) at half the price as the government even when Wal-Mart’s profit mark-up is factored in!

 

Talk to anyone who works in an emergency room and you'll learn that what I wrote is completely accurate.

USA Today wrote a good article about it a few years ago. Some quotes:

 

This video was very good.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-09-07-video-emergency-room_N.htm

 

It's pretty simple when you see that the main socialistic feature of Obamacare is that he would put 38,000,000 people on a nationwide medical care scheme that most of them won't or can't pay for. Pure socialist, Democrat politics as usual, but what would you expect from the most uberliberal president we've had since Lyndon Johnson.

 

This is a pretty stupid thread.

Common sense should tell you this answer.

Medicare and Medicaid end up picking up the tab for those who are uninsurable. Typically the elderly, poor and disabled of society that have no other options.

This affects the bottom line more so than private insurance because they can't tell people no. Below is a link to a medicaid/medicare fact sheet produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7523_02.pdf

It shows that in 2005-2006 about 76% of the participants in these programs were Aged and Disabled.

That's the last group of people that Private Insurers will touch.

Private insurance is only able to appear lean due to denials of service, and denial of coverage to those who would be a drag on the bottom line. Fraud takes place in the private industry as well, but the right wing would prefer to only show when it happens with the public care sector.

Health care needs to be a universally shared expense. Everyone should pay into Medicare/Medicaid, and everyone should also be eligible for coverage.

Private Insurance is what is driving our healthcare costs through the roof, because of denials of coverage, the hospitals, doctors and clinics spend extra time trying to get paid by somebody, anybody. Often they end up just eating the costs and that ends up meaning they have to pass those losses on to those who do pay.

This is pure idiocy that the conservatives of this nation like to ignore, it's basic conflict between capitalism and providing a government mandated service (IE that emergency rooms can't deny care,) that the conservatives said was the solution instead of real healthcare reform.

Obamacare is not reform by the way. Real reform would have been sticking a knife into the private insurance industry, and going public option.

 

You are very mistaken, Trumanp.

Your comments are not supported by facts.

go back to school and this time do your homework.

 

As opposed to the private sector, where the emphasis is on denying medical care whenever possible so as to pad the profits of the corporation. Every company tries to maximize profits while minimizing costs: it's just that with private health care insurance, minimizing costs means people suffering and dying. It is certainly more efficient from a corporate standpoint, but what about the standpoint of the consumer?

 

Come now, skeptic-f.

These comments are not true and you of all people know it.

You are just throwing stuff out there hoping some poor schumck will read it and actually believe it!

 

pure socialism...that increased corporate coffers...

RW brilliance at its finest

 

The corporate criminals are just taking advantage of the bank having no lock on its doors until Obama's Gestapo goosesteps in and forces everybody to pay whether they like it or not. But, those who can't pay will just get everything for free! When we all figure out how to poor-mouth around enough to get on that gravy train nobody will be paying and everybody will be sucking on the socialist medicine system. And you know what? You won't find any of it, not one single bit of it authorized by or written into the Constitution.

 

we already give poor people health insurance, its called medicaid.

 

Obama and Democratic leaders say that wiping out waste and fraud in Medicare, including the elimination of more than $100 billion in government subsidies for the Medicare Advantage program in which private insurers supplement standard Medicare coverage, will reduce government health care costs by several hundred billion dollars.

Obama's executive order will include setting up Web site dashboards for each agency to provide the public with "easy-to-follow" information on improper payments, including tracking error rates and identifying responsible officials, Orszag said.

 

This review presents a great analysis of why medical care in the U.S. is very expensive. Could it be that our lack of exercise and our eating habits are to blame?

"We can spend all the money we want on bypass surgeries, chemotherapy and diabetes, but . . . two-thirds of Americans are overweight, one-third are obese."

 

Fraud is so rampant because it is run by the govt so nobody cares. The workers at Medicare are counting their days to retirement and figuring how to make their no work jobs even easier. They have nothing at stake so they don't care. How long is it until I can go home is all they care about.

This is the problem with ALL govt programs, no accountability, no stake, no vested interest, no owners to lose if things go wrong, so who cares just send out the checks, it's not my money..

Classic big govt, classic liberalism.

 

If an emergency room is tending to people for acne, cough, and other NON-EMERGENCY scenarios, then some common sense will tell us it's not really an emergency room; it's a medical clinic covering all medical treatment with an emergency room on the side.

There are NO LAWS which require an emergency room to treat acne and coughs!!

Why can't medical institutions run someone's SS number through a computer to know if they are covered on Medicaid or Medicare? If they do this then they can invoice Medicaid and Medicare. When they don't, if the patient does not pay, then the hospital must book the loss.

Here's some common sense and reality; today and forever there will always be a (*)(*)(*)(*) load, tens of millions of Americans, who will feed off of the private or government medical system. THIS CANNOT BE STOPPED unless we wish for people to be bleeding and dying in the streets! The ONLY question is what percentage of Americans will fall into this category and how much will it cost the nation?

 

There is fraud because the government forces Medicaid and Medicare into a 'private' medical system, then will only pay them 10% of the market rates for treatment!

Both medical systems were designed from the very beginning to spawn a (*)(*)(*)(*)-load of fraud...

 

Very good points, OldManOnFire.

Especially when you say, "If an emergency room is tending to people for acne, cough, and other NON-EMERGENCY scenarios, then some common sense will tell us it's not really an emergency room; it's a medical clinic covering all medical treatment with an emergency room on the side."

Thanks for sharing.

 

you are very correct, Louisiana75.

Many clinics accept Medicaid patients.