What’s so great about private health insurance?
I’m on TRICARE Prime (military/retired military) which is run by the govt. and have no complaints. It cost me $468 a year which is less than some of my coworkers pay for a month on our companies plan.
What's so great about private health insurance?
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Comment by warren peace
i earned it.i can see who i want.i don’t have to pay but a dollar for prescriptions for my family.i can get treatment for diseases after 55 unlike the proposed government plan. and best of all i am not taking money from other people in taxes to pay for it!
Comment by fangtaiyang
Private health insurance is great for the insurance companies. They rake in quite a nice profit.
Comment by Gus
I’d say the only thing that’s “great” about it is that it isn’t public insurance.
Let’s be honest…it’s expensive, full of holes, covers intermittently, and is essentially an unfair system.
But…
It’s better than having a committee of congressmen decide how many times I can visit the doctor per year….
EDIT: TRICARE is like any other Dept Of Defense program: All of the heavy lifting is contracted out to private firms. Private health insurance firms handle nearly ALL of the the dirty work…DoD just sends dumptrucks full of cash to them, and hopes for the best.
Comment by William S
The government has nothing to do with it…my question has to be why would anyone want a government that screws up everything they touch to run their health care. People that think the government can run anything better than the private sector really worry me or it’s a sign of naive youth.
Comment by Maj. Hoople
The best things about having private health insurance won’t become readily apparent until we all have public health insurance. I’ve worked at two different hospitals, one a public health hospital and one a privately owned hospital. The waiting time in the ER at the former was about five times as long as it was at the latter.
** TRICARE is paid by the government, not run by the government. You choose your provider and they make the decisions about your care, not the government.
Comment by Hambone
I went to the doctors for the first time in probably 6 years. I had a $15 copay, got two prescriptions filled for $20. I was able to get an appointment in two days. I pay $10 or $20 per month out of my paycheck. I am happy with my plan at this time.
Comment by Reagan '12
Private health insurance provides competition in the market, something that government can only do when it takes money from one person and uses it to provide money or services for another. It’s redistribution of hard work and puts a cap on success. All it does is encourages people to do less but still reap the benefits from those who worked hard to earn it. There is nothing stopping people who cannot afford their health insurance from getting a second job, switching providers, or how about taking better care of themselves. Too many people who have 5 kids but cannot afford to take care of them, ultimately increasing the cost of health insruance to cover the entire family. If you can’t afford to take care of a big family, then why have one?
Health insruance companies aren’t greedy and make a huge profit like people say, it’s a market of only a 3% profit margin – and it is also the best care in the world. You get what you pay for.
fangtaiyang,
You have no clue what you are talking about. Private health insurance companies only make a 3% profit margin for providing the best health care in the world. That’s 3%, barely anything compared to other realms of private companies. The health insurance companies make about as much profit as grocery stores do, and it’s merely a “big profit”. To you and other countries around the world it may be expensive, but you’re getting what you pay for in the US, and that is the best health care in the world.
O’Really,
That’s a military/retired military plan, as you said. Those costs come from a total different budget than if government provided health care for all. What you have to understand is, we are willing to pay higher taxes for military/retired military for their services to the freedom of the United States. I am not willing to pay higher taxes for individuals who have 5 kids, a part time job, and no education when my wife and I are both working full time with zero kids trying to make a living and pay our house and bills. Redistribution of wealth is different than funding military/retired military health care.
Comment by Bamford1000
Universal Health Care is usually very popular in the countries which have it, and take up of private health care insurance is low in places like Britain, although there is still a private system.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5100101/Recession-sees-first-fall-in-private-health-spending-in-20-years.html
I am English and have always found the NHS to be very good, and in recent years there has been a marked improvement in NHS services as Government spending has increased.
Universal health care relies on proper funding like all health systems, if Universal health care is funded properly then it can be every bit as good if not better than private health care.
As for waiting times, the NHS in recent years has addressed the problem by allowing private companies and NHS trusts to set up Independent Sector Treatment Centres where routine operations such as hip replacements can be carried out.
http://www.ramsayhealth.co.uk/about_us/news/latest_news/changing_role.aspx
There is also a system known as NHS Choice whereby you can choose the hospital and doctors who treat you, including participating private hospitals.
http://www.barlboroughtreatmentcentre.nhs.uk/content/nhs_choices
http://www.ramsayhealth.co.uk/essential_care/nhs_patient_information.aspx
In terms of Emergency and Specialist treatments many NHS Teaching Hospitals are amongst the best in the world and New Regional Specialised Cancer Centres, Cancer Screening programmes and minimum standards in relation to the time taken to see a Cancer specialist have all meant a major improvement in NHS Services in recent years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8122798.stm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5785681/Deaths-from-common-cancers-at-40-year-low.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7174340.stm
http://www.ccotrust.nhs.uk/patients/general_information/
To be honest there is nothing wrong with universal health care, as long as it is funded properly.
Finally there are world renowned hospitals and surgeons operating within the NHS.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5704448/NHS-hospitals-could-be-graded-on-Michelin-star-system.html
Renowned NHS Hospitals in England include -
Bones and joints
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital
Is a centre of excellence it treats patients from across the country, many referred by other consultants from elsewhere for a second opinion.
Alternative specialist orthopaedic hospitals include the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham (rated “good” by the Healthcare Commission) and the Nuffield, Oxford.
Brains
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
If you have a head injury, stroke or condition affecting the brain, such as Alzheimer’s, epilepsy or multiple sclerosis, this is the place to go. Along with the nearby Institute of Neurology, it is major international centre for treatment, research and training. The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery has 200 beds at its central London site near Euston station, and treated more than 4,500 in-patients and 54,000 outpatients last year. Part of the University College London Hospitals Trust, it is also planning a new clinical neurosciences building at Queen’s Square, which already boasts a state of the art neuro-rehabilitation unit.
The hospital’s close rival is the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Fazakerley, Liverpool, the only specialist neurological NHS trust, which occupies a purpose-built facility serving 3.5 million people in the North-west. A research team from the centre won a large US grant to investigate the neurodevelopmental effects of anti-epileptic drugs.
Hearts
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust
The largest specialist heart and lung centre in the UK, the Royal Brompton and Harefield acquired its reputation through the work of Sir Magdi Yacoub, the internationally renowned surgeon who pioneered heart transplants in the UK the 1980s. Yacoub was a friend and confidant of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Cancer
The Royal Marsden NHS Trust
The first dedicated cancer hospital in the world, founded in 1851, is still the best. With the Institute of Cancer Research, the Royal Marsden is the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Europe, seeing more than 40,000 patients from the UK and abroad each year. It has the highest income from private patients of any hospital in Britain, testifying to its international reputation.
England has two other internationally renowned specialist cancer centres – the Christie Hospital in Manchester, and the Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology, near Liverpool.
Ear, nose and throat
Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital
The country’s largest ear, nose and throat hospital is also Europe’s centre for audiological research, with an international reputation for its expertise and range of specialties, all on one site on London’s Gray’s Inn Road.
Bowel
St Marks Hospital, Harrow
Britain’s leading national and international referral centre for diseases of the bowel is the only hospital in the UK and one of only 14 worldwide to be recognised as a centre of excellence by the World Organisation of Digestive Endoscopy.
The hospital is part of the North West London Hospitals Trust. In the north of England, Hope Hospital, Manchester also has a specialist bowel diseases unit.
Liver
King’s College hospital NHS Trust
The liver unit at King’s is the largest in the world. It is one of 31 specialist liver units in the UK, but none can match it for expertise, facilities or state of the art equipment. It offers investigation and treatment for all types of acute and chronic liver disease, which is increasing in the UK.
The unit performs 200 liver transplants a year, and more than 200 patients with liver failure are admitted to its intensive care unit each year.
Other highly regarded major centres among the 31 specialist units are the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne; St James’s University Hospital, Leeds; University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust; Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge and Derriford Hospital, Plymouth.
Psychiatry
The Maudsley Hospital and Royal Bethlem Hospital (Bedlam)
One of Britain’s oldest hospitals, the Royal Bethlem contribution to mental-health care stretches back at least 760 years fromits origins as the Priory of St Mary of Bethlehem from which the name “Bedlam” comes. It was first referred to as a hospital for the insane in 1403 and was founded on its present south London site by psychiatrist Henry Maudsley in 1907.
Today it is a centre of excellence for the delivery mental-health care. Its addictions centre offers new treatments for drug abuse, alcoholism, eating disorders and smoking, it provides innovative care for disturbed children and adolescents and is the largest mental-health training institute in the country.
Children
Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust
If you have a child with a rare or complicated disorder, this is the place to come. It is one of the largest centre for research into childhood illness in thev world, and the largest centre for the treatment of children’s cancer in Europe, it also delivers the widest range of specialist care of any children’s hospital in the UK.
Many of those cared for at GOSH still have life-threatening conditions but they are promised the best care both because of the expertise of its medical staff and because of the trust’s extraordinary success in attracting charitable donations, which have made it among the best-funded medical institutions in the country.
JM Barrie’s gift of the royalties from Peter Pan in 1929 has been a vital, and hugely valuable, source of income for the hospital for almost 80 years.
Other commendable children’s hospitals include Alder Hey, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield.
Eyes
Moorfields Eye Hospital
The largest specialist eye hospital in the country and one of the largest in the world, Moorfields was founded in 1805. It treats more patients than any other eye hospital or clinic in the UK and more than half the ophthalmologists practising in the UK have received specialist training at Moorfields.
Comment by Luv2Answer
I don’t know anything to compare it to other than my parents who are on medicare and hate it but I can go to any doctor I want without a referral and have any tests I need or want whenever I want. Sometimes they only cover 80% and I have to pay the rest but it’s worth it to me. Going to a world renowned surgeon at Johns Hopkins saved my brother’s life and there were no issues in getting an appointment and within a week the surgery was being performed. I don’t know if he would have had that opportunity with public care. I doubt it. I’m happy with it, never had a problem and want to keep it.
Comment by David R
Nothing, cons don’t like that a democratic President has presented it if it were a republican President they be all for it. Did you cons do you own study of health care around the world? You keep on saying America has the best health care in the world, but many studies have shown that were about 26th in the world for health care. If you have a study that shows that not to be correct show us or stop lying to make troll points.
Comment by Double Dachshunds Owner
I was on Tricare once when my husband was in the Navy. Many doctors would not accept it and I received, in a few instances, shoddy medical care. Once he went reserve status and pursued a federal job, we had BCBS and it was MUCH better. Every doctor I have needed accepts it. Yes, there are still mediocre doctors out there who accept all insurances, but by having private insurance (Not an HMO) I am free to choose who I want to see and when I want to see them. Furthermore, if I receive poor care under a doctor I choose, I can choose another from a broad range of choices, not a small pool.
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edit:
I also lived overseas (2000-2002). The citizens were taxed at a 50% income tax rate. The mother of a friend of mine in Great Britain was scrubbed and prepped on the gurney outside the operating room for bypass surgery when the surgeon came out and told her that there were no beds that day. He told her to go home and come back in 3-4 months for BYPASS SURGERY! Also at that time GB was sending its patients to France and Italy for surgery, because it was too backlogged to handle its own demands. This is socialized medicine in a nutshell. Be careful what you wish for.
Comment by johninjc
The same thing that is great about private housing and private schools. They produce a much better product than the government versions. The government can’t even run the post office for a profit and they have a monopoly on the industry. Maybe if they could run Social Security, Medicaid, or Medicare halfway decent it would be alright but you can add those three to a very long list of bad government ventures like the war on poverty, the war on drugs, etc. The government has a very long record of spending to much money and not getting the results that programs were designed to get.
Comment by Richard E
in theory, a private healthcare sector would offer insurances at the lowest possible cost, catering only for those things that people really want, and cutting out all the unnecessary bureaucracy. On top of that, insurance companies can offer insurance packages that match your particular interests or lifestyle.
In reality, however, there are a number of problems with that.
1st, the private sector typically offers a lot of different packages, which are hard to differentiate for lay people. Not only does it create a bureaucracy of rules, preconditions and procedures, it also requires the “customer” to be soem sort of a bureaucrat to go through all this.
In short: customers cannot assess all the market information.
2nd Private insurance is not something you quit buying when it doesn’t match your expectations. When you need it, you hope it does match your expectations, until that time you hope for the best. This is very unlike ordinary consumer products, which, if you dont like them, you can quit buying them. There is no consumer pressure of this sense on insurance companies.
3rd Health is the most valuable thing people have, so when threatened or confronted with a fatal disease, people will pay whatever it takes to get the care the need. health care therefor acts as a “welfare-sink”: when unregulated, the market will be able to absorb what ever people have. that’s why in the US, prices for private medical care have ballooned in the past 30 years.
4th Insurance companies work to make money, and so they will only insure people with a low probability of needing the insurance. Those who are sick will pay most for an insurance (or won’t get one at all). Once your sick, or have a history of illness, you can’t switch to a better provider. Imagine a telephone company, which denies you to end the contract once you’ve used the phone to call to Germany, on the threat that you cannot get a contract with any other company. This further blocks consumer pressure on insurance companies, and distorts the market.
This list is probably not exhaustive, there may be even more characteristics to medical care which obstruct the cosntruction of smoothly operating markets. The final comment i want to make is that there are forms of insurance possible which combine state and market characteristics, for instance state owned (but independent) insurance company. Also, the mere presence of a publicly funded insurance raises the bar for private insurance: who would take private insurance if it would be worse than public insurance? In my eyes the opposition between only public vs. only private in the current debate in the US is a little nonsensical.
Comment by Michael P in NJ
Lots of things — but only if you can afford it. If you can’t, then it’s useless. Not bad, but literally useless.