<< Look at medical insurance payment systems:
Medicaid/Medicare have the ONLY tape-to-tape third party hospital billing
systems. Aetna, Blue Cross, forget about it - they suck - it takes hospitals
forever to collect from them. That's why the Social Secuity expense ratio
(expenses/premiums) for both the pure indemnity and medical cost is
infinitesmal compared to the private insurers. >>
About ten years ago a friend of mine who is president of a cwa local went to visit a cwa hospital in Toronto which was approximately the same size as Beth Israel in Manhattan at that time. With uniform collection policies nationwide, this hospital's billing department was run with a staff of 9 persons. Beth Israel had two whole floors devoted to people who just collect insurance. Another example, 25% of the American waged workforce is management. This is the highest management/nonmanagement ratio IN THE WORLD. I think the next closest is Japan with about 11-12% but it's been a long time since I looked at the comparative figures. For all this you can look at some of David Gordons posthumously printed work.
maggie coleman mscoleman at aol.com