Regard this Seattle Times story on Sunday…
The Obama administration last week endorsed health cooperatives like Group Health as a potential alternative to a government-run insurance plan whose aim is to create competition among insurers and slow soaring health-care costs.
…Slog tipper Josh writes:
I imagine you’ve seen the front page Seattle Times story on Group Health. Someone needs to ask the obvious question of Group Health: “Don’t you have a dog in this fight?”
[Group Health CEO] Scott Armstrong says co-ops sound like a good idea? Does it come as any surprise that the CEO of a co-op insurance company that stands to benefit from substituting private co-ops for the choice of a public plan likes the idea?
i’ve also heard group health reps on npr say that they were not sure their system would work on a nation wide basis.
Universal Single Payer Health Care or REVOLUTION!!!
Ha ha ha, sometimes I just make myself laugh. Time to move to Canada or France or Britian or….
But just wait until the birthers twist Co-Ops to be code for Co-Operative Soviet Farming Communes!!
Group Health is their model for co-ops. But Group Health, up and running for decades still does not offer prices lower than any other insurance plan. Co-ops (which will take time to establish) will not have the power to drive down prices. So how, pray tell, wlll a co-op plan accomplish the goal of more affordability.
I have a co-op option at work. It isn’t any cheaper. I have a hard time believing more of these would solve anything. They are different form of health-insurance, not a cheaper one.
Regular insurance is like going to an a la carte restaurant where everyone in the restaurant splits the bill. Co-ops are like all-you-can eat buffets where everyone plays the same high price to get in, without any cheaper option for those who don’t want to eat all they can.
Cheaper health care will only happen if the vertical relationship between employers and insurers is broken up and folks are given a broader range of choices, including ones with significant restrictions on what services will be paid for.
@5: all health insurance in this region is much cheaper than other regions because, in theory, GHC drove down the price. Group Health is lightyears ahead of other insurance plans, and I get much better service there than I have anywhere.
I’d much prefer a public option, and prefer single payer above that. But if we end up with a national GHC, it’s still a leap forward.
Group Health gives very good service. It’s absolutely NO less expensive than other types of healthcare services. But because their providers are employees (including pharmacists), your care is integrated and they have no motive to push expensive, unproved, and sometimes dangerous drugs on you.
Important correction to another post: GHC is NOT an insurance company, coop or not. It’s an HMO, which basically sells services as a package. It took many years to develop that model, and it’s not likely that others will just spring up like dandelions.
wow how inspirational
Obama will TOTALLY motivate those dogpatchy voters in Arkansas to lean on their two democratic senators to support this vision
face it folks, Obama ain’t got a clue how to lead this fight.
What would you be sayihg it it was Bush or a Clinton in the middle of this fight and they went to Martha’s Vineyard for a week?
Fuck man, he could have stopped by and visited Teddy. Nice photo op. Maybe even walk on a beach at Hyannisposrt, throw the footbal softly to Ted….put Caroline into the picture…get on god damned fucking TV and explain if you the average insurance adjuster with wife working at walmart, if you had this brain cancer teddy has, you would be banktrupt thru co pays because insurance ain’t no insurance…get the two senators from arkansas to come fucking visit and get the fuck all over tv all over arkansas….leading to their tv stations covering local examples of folks going bankrupt from the exact same brain disease…
oh never mind he’s just not that into us. enjoy the blue heron farm week for your $25K vacation Mr. President.
Teddy is dying 14 miles away by boat and ten minutes by helicopter, they even have a landing pad, and you can’t be bothered.
Which part of three-quarters of American citizens want single-payer national health care don’t they GET?
I have Group Health through the UW and out of all the insurance plans I’ve been on, it is by far the best. There’s a ton of flexibility — you pick a primary care physician who then stays your doctor for as long as you want them to, but you can change PCPs at any time and can also self-refer to a lot of the specialists. I’ve never been denied a specialist, test, or prescription in 15 years of being a Group Health member (through countless ailments and injuries, I might add). Preventative appointments are free (physicals, annual exams for women, etc.), and after a decade and a half of going there, I’ve only had two bad experiences (one was a bad doctor, the other was a problem with the radiology department). Most of their plans also include alternative health services like massage therapy, acupuncture, etc., as well, which is pretty rare and great.
@5, Group Health offers a variety of plan levels, actually. It’s not one-size-fits-all. And the cheapest plan, the “value” plan, which is the one I’m on, offers better coverage than the most expensive plan my husband has access to via his workplace (unfortunately, he has to stay on that crappy insurance because of union restrictions). I don’t know what non-UW people pay for their Group Health coverage, but I pay $25/month for mine, with a $200 annual deductible, and $15 appointment copays ($10 for generic prescriptions, $15 for non-generics).
Even if I had to pay four times that much, it would still beat the pants off 90% of the medical insurance plans my friends and family are on, especially when it comes to flexibility and range of services. Also, Group Health has an incredible online system — I can email my doctor instead of making appointments for follow-ups or questions, and can also email nurses with quick questions. You can refill prescriptions online (shipping is free), and also view your medical records, notes from your doctor about home care, etc. etc. etc. I’ve saved tons of money by just exchanging emails with my doctor instead of making the trip in to see her (no copay for email!). It’s absolutely brilliant.
Like @6, I’d love to see a public option. But a national GHC would be a massive improvement over what we have now, and would be a compromise I could live with, at least in the short-term.
The U.S. Senate is the most corrupt body in the world. Disgusting how they’re willing to betray the American people. You would expect this from the Republican’s. They don’t even bother to hide their corruption. But the Democrats who are behind this failure will need to go. And first among them should be Lieberman the rat.