Comments on: Clunking toward health reform http://www.fundmasteryblog.com/2009/08/25/clunking-toward-health-reform/ Mutual Funds, Investing, Retirement, Economy, Personal Finance Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:51:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Kurt Brouwer http://www.fundmasteryblog.com/2009/08/25/clunking-toward-health-reform/#comment-3462 Kurt Brouwer Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:06:25 +0000 http://www.fundmasteryblog.com/2009/08/25/clunking-toward-health-reform/#comment-3462 That's quite a leap Jan. I wrote that our government could not adequately administer Cash for Clunkers, which is clear, so you jump to the conclusion that I am a true believe in big business. Actually, I think big business and big government are frequently in cahoots, but that's a tale for another post. Your facts about insurance companies and administrative costs are off, in particular, your claim about Medicare efficiencies has been thoroughly debunked. Just Google Medicare administrative costs and you will find numerous reputable refutations of that claim. That’s quite a leap Jan. I wrote that our government could not adequately administer Cash for Clunkers, which is clear, so you jump to the conclusion that I am a true believe in big business. Actually, I think big business and big government are frequently in cahoots, but that’s a tale for another post.

Your facts about insurance companies and administrative costs are off, in particular, your claim about Medicare efficiencies has been thoroughly debunked. Just Google Medicare administrative costs and you will find numerous reputable refutations of that claim.

]]> By: Jan Rogozinski http://www.fundmasteryblog.com/2009/08/25/clunking-toward-health-reform/#comment-3461 Jan Rogozinski Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:01:50 +0000 http://www.fundmasteryblog.com/2009/08/25/clunking-toward-health-reform/#comment-3461 You are a true believer in the religion of big business. You believe that the management of government-run businesses can do nothing right, while he bosses of huge corporations can do nothing wrong. Now if one leaves religious fantasies and looks at reality. It depends on the type of business. Work that is essentially accounting is best done by government. Work where one needs folk that employment agencies call "detail oriented." It is very wrong for those kinds of work to be done by "free Enterprise." The worst thing one can think of is a "creative" accountant. Medical insurance is a good example. It is nothing but mindless details. THERE IS NO "PRODUCT." Private insurance companies are pirates, levying a toll on every ship that goes by. Their CEOs get paid 750 million a year. Which is why their administrative costs are between 30 to 40%. (even though they insure only those that are in perfect health adn have no "pre-existing conditions."), In contrast, Medicare's administrative costs are 3 (THREE) percent, leaving 97% to pay for health care, even though they insure everyone over 65 including those with "pre-existing conditions." Now the unquestioned greater efficiency of government might not be true for work that needs entrepreneurial creativity, such as chemical companies, or computer technology companies. But government certain is infinitely more efficient and vastly less costly than private businesses doing repetitive, mindless work such as medical insurance. As far as efficiency goes, you also need to look up the "Fortune 500" from, say 1960. Whee you will discover that something like a third of the largest companies in 1960 aren't on the list any more because they failed, went bankrupt, and disappeared. Think Bear Sterns, most recently. Think Washington Mutual. You are convinced every CEOs is a geniuses, who can do nothing wrong ever. So then how is they fail and fail and fail??. And, of course, as far as "waste and fraud" go, for every penny lost to those factors by government-run businesses, private businesses lose a million dollars. Think Barney Madoff. Think Enron. You are a true believer in the religion of big business. You believe that the management of government-run businesses can do nothing right, while he bosses of huge corporations can do nothing wrong.

Now if one leaves religious fantasies and looks at reality. It depends on the type of business. Work that is essentially accounting is best done by government. Work where one needs folk that employment agencies call “detail oriented.” It is very wrong for those kinds of work to be done by “free Enterprise.” The worst thing one can think of is a “creative” accountant.

Medical insurance is a good example. It is nothing but mindless details. THERE IS NO “PRODUCT.” Private insurance companies are pirates, levying a toll on every ship that goes by. Their CEOs get paid 750 million a year. Which is why their administrative costs are between 30 to 40%. (even though they insure only those that are in perfect health adn have no “pre-existing conditions.”), In contrast, Medicare’s administrative costs are 3 (THREE) percent, leaving 97% to pay for health care, even though they insure everyone over 65 including those with “pre-existing conditions.”

Now the unquestioned greater efficiency of government might not be true for work that needs entrepreneurial creativity, such as chemical companies, or computer technology companies. But government certain is infinitely more efficient and vastly less costly than private businesses doing repetitive, mindless work such as medical insurance.

As far as efficiency goes, you also need to look up the “Fortune 500″ from, say 1960. Whee you will discover that something like a third of the largest companies in 1960 aren’t on the list any more because they failed, went bankrupt, and disappeared. Think Bear Sterns, most recently. Think Washington Mutual. You are convinced every CEOs is a geniuses, who can do nothing wrong ever. So then how is they fail and fail and fail??.

And, of course, as far as “waste and fraud” go, for every penny lost to those factors by government-run businesses, private businesses lose a million dollars. Think Barney Madoff. Think Enron.

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