what healthcare crisis?

[joanna bujes]

At 08:39 PM 04/25/2002 -0400, Doug wrote:
>Meanwhile, I just got a notice from the National Writers Union
>yesterday announcing that the union's contract with Aetna to provide
>health insurance coverage will probably be renewed, but with a
>massive premium increase that will probably be beyond the means of
>many, even most, members. If only those who are about to lose health
>coverage had known to hedge by going long AET...
It could be even worse. Because of the high rates last year and because 
Aetna refused to cover writers in California, some writer union members 
were enrolled in what turned out to be a bogus/fraudulent plan "Employees 
Mutual" or something like that...eventually it was found out and a number 
of people with critical need of  medical insurances were left high and dry.

I remember reading somewhere that the HMOs and a lot of the medical 
insurers were constructed a bit like Ponzi schemes, they had to keep 
enrolling members to keep afloat. When expansion was no longer possible, 
then premiums would go up, and /or companies would fail. No doubt after 
execs walked away with all the free cash in bonuses.

I don't really know what to say about health insurance in the U.S., except 
that it's really hard to imagine something less efficient and more 
predatory. You really have to be insane to apply the market model to 
medical care. I mean, every morning I wake up and say to myself "What 
should I do today? Get a new bra? Get a triple bypass? See a that new movie?"

Joanna