• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Health Plan Won’t Fuel Big Spending, Report Says

donsutherland1

DP Veteran
Joined
Oct 17, 2007
Messages
11,862
Reaction score
10,300
Location
New York
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Centrist
From today's edition of The New York Times:

A new government study says President Obama’s health care law will have negligible effects on total national health spending in the next 10 years, neither slowing nor fueling the explosive growth of medical costs.

About 32.5 million people will gain coverage, and health spending will grow slightly faster than projected under prior law — at an annual rate of 6.3 percent, rather than 6.1 percent, the report said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/health/policy/09health.html

For those who are interested, the full text of the article can be found at: National Health Spending Projections: The Estimated Impact Of Reform Through 2019 -- Sisko et al., 10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0788 -- Health Affairs

As noted during the health reform debate, I continue to believe that the biggest defect in the plan was not anything that was added to the plan, but its failure to tackle the excess cost growth issue. Failure to restrain the growth of health expenditures will create increased long-term fiscal pressure. Growth in such expenditures at a multiple of nominal GDP represents a large and growing imbalance. Unless foreigners are willing to finance an increasing share of the U.S. health system's costs--there is no evidence of any such long-term commitment--the system is on an unsustainable trajectory.

This new report confirms that the recently adopted health reforms, whatever one thinks of them on other attributes (coverage expansion, budget impact, etc.), has not "bent" the cost curve toward a more sustainable trajectory.
 
Last edited:
FACT CHECK: Obama's tone shifts on health care

Sep 10, 4:10 PM (ET)

By ERICA WERNER and CALVIN WOODWARD

(AP) President Barack Obama is reflected in the mirror as he answers questions during a news conference...
Full Image

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama told voters repeatedly during the health care debate that the overhaul legislation would bring down fast-rising health care costs and save them money. Now, he's hemming and hawing on that.

Obama offered some caveats when asked in his news conference Friday about the apparent discrepancy between what he promised and what's actually happening so far. On several other topics, too, his rhetoric fell short of a full accounting.

My Way News - FACT CHECK: Obama's tone shifts on health care

it appears ap's tone is shifting, as well

the dude has no credibility

sorry, y'all
 
Last edited:
And how can they say this just 3 days after this came out. http://http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703720004575478200948908976.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

It's clearly cause and effect and shows this report talked about in the L.A.Times story is BUNK.

And we all know Obama has been lying about the costs to all of us. Hell there are a number of new taxes in that 2,000 page disaster waiting to happen if we don't vote with fresh new eyes on the prize in Nov.

Give a listen to part of a interview about Obama: http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSBnzFtN6tk
 
I'm just wondering why a heart transplant costs almost a million dollars in this country.
 
I'm just wondering why a heart transplant costs almost a million dollars in this country.

Tort reform would help slow the rise in medical costs. I know pooliticians claim it would make like to no differnce but that is B.S.

Talk with anyone who has been in the insurance business for the last 25 years and you'll learn the truth. Politicians are obligated to trial lawyers.

25 years ago I had major medical and spent 53 days in U.C.S.F. Hospital at a cost of about $82,000. Today that would cost about $500,000 if I had an HMO to cover it.

Also look at what law suits have done to the cost of Malpractice Insurance it is out of sight, and has made finding an Obstetrician in some places very hard or even impossible.
 
Tort reform would help slow the rise in medical costs. I know pooliticians claim it would make like to no differnce but that is B.S.

Talk with anyone who has been in the insurance business for the last 25 years and you'll learn the truth. Politicians are obligated to trial lawyers.

25 years ago I had major medical and spent 53 days in U.C.S.F. Hospital at a cost of about $82,000. Today that would cost about $500,000 if I had an HMO to cover it.

Also look at what law suits have done to the cost of Malpractice Insurance it is out of sight, and has made finding an Obstetrician in some places very hard or even impossible.

Health insurers are bigger lobbiers than trail lawyers
 
Well what do you expect when this policy is basically forcing people to go to the very insurance companies that have been gouging them for years?
 
Health insurers are bigger lobbiers than trail lawyers

By far! No comparison. But then nobody's talking tort reform right now. And apparently, judging by this chart, lawyers aren't too worried about Dems taking it on, which I find very interesting:
Lobbying.png
 
I'm just wondering why a heart transplant costs almost a million dollars in this country.

If we just got rid of hospitals in this country, or forced them to provide their services at much less than their costs, the average heart transplant would only be about $200k.

Here's a nice breakdown of what is associated with that cost:

Transplant Living: Organ Donation and Transplantation Information for Patients

And before you say it, hospitals have, on average, very low profit margins with many not making any profit at all.
 
Last edited:
If we just got rid of hospitals in this country, or forced them to provide their services at much less than their costs, the average heart transplant would only be about $200k.

Here's a nice breakdown of what is associated with that cost:

Transplant Living: Organ Donation and Transplantation Information for Patients

And before you say it, hospitals have, on average, very low profit margins with many not making any profit at all.

Hhmm…visions of a heart transplant on a kitchen table, with patent biting on a bullet after chugalugging a quart of vodka. Yep, that would cut cost. :roll:
 
Well what do you expect when this policy is basically forcing people to go to the very insurance companies that have been gouging them for years?
Average profit margins are around 6%, minimum acceptable standard is usually at 8% for businesses as a rule. For insurance companies to be "gouging" they would have to have profit margins larger than they are currently that did not line up with the value of the service provided, if anything insurance is "cheap" compared to the payouts for services artificially regulated to inflated values.
 
I'm just wondering why a heart transplant costs almost a million dollars in this country.

As mentioned above, here's the breakdown:

According to Transplant Living, the average total cost of a single heart transplant in 2007 was $658,800. This figure includes the cost of obtaining a donor heart, at an average of nearly $90,000, about $23,000 in evaluation fees, $40,000 for doctor's fees, $383,000 in hospital costs, $93,000 in post-operative care, and over $29,000 for immunosuppressive prescription medications.

None of that seems remotely out-of-line to me.

A heart transplant involves extensive pre-operative screening, transport of a surgeon to remove and preserve the heart, 8+ hours of surgery from a team of highly trained surgeons in order to install the heart, weeks of post-operative hospital rest, and a lifetime course of immunosuppressants.
 
Back
Top Bottom