If you don't think national healthcare would work, what about non-profit insurance?

Question

If private insurance companies became non-profit, would they help to insure everyone at a reasonable rate? It seems like the insurance biz is a bit of a racket, anyway...

Answer 1

I agree that insurance is a racket. I used to work in medical insurance, and believe me, they do not care about anything but the pay off. However, I do not think that non-for profit would be the best answer. In fact, I think we'd be better off if exactly the opposite were to happen. There are some crazy insurance laws that really get in the way of the free market and cost the individual consumer thousands of dollars a year. At least part of the solution is to stop mandating coverage that is not needed, such as gastric by-pass surgery. Imagine being able to go to the health insurer and pick a plan tailored to you, with only the coverages that you are willing to pay for. If we could do that we might be able to afford it ourselves and stop depending on our employers, which drives up cost tremendously. (Think about it -- if you're not paying for the insurance, do you really care how much it costs the insurance company when you have a cat scan?)
Don't get me started on medicaid and medicare....

Answer 2

We have a not-for-profit entity that insures Worker's Compensation here in California, known as State Fund.

A few years ago, they came under scrutiny for not having enough money in reserve to pay for claims.

This led to:
1 - Asserting they are not an insurance company and thus not subject to regulation by the Department of Insurance
2 - Firing their auditors
3 - Requesting that independent rating agency A. M. Best cease rating them.
4 - Claiming they are not a government entity, even though their employees get state holidays, pensions and benefits.

So, you really want a government entity running insurance?

What is a reasonable rate?

Answer 3

It's the profit motive in private insurance that has corrupted American health care to the condition we find it now. In order to make a profit - marketing, paperwork, executive salaries, shareholder dividends - an insurance company must minimize care, and that results in denials of care which, in turn, results in dead Americans.

National health INSURANCE will work in America. The money is already present in the system. The public already spends more, much more per capita on health care than any other nation. Furthermore, a single-payer national plan will cost everyone (and businesses) less in taxes than we currently pay in premiums and copays.

Please join us at http://www.myspace.com/onecarenoworg to learn about and discuss a national health insurance solution for America.

Answer 4

Blue Cross and Blue Shield are non-profit insurers. The Western PA BC/BS has a few billion dollars in what they call "reserves." Non-profit may not necessarily mean efficient or low cost.

Answer 5

Companies such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield are classified as non-profit organizations, are they operated as NPO's is a better question. Under the Freedom of Information Act their tax documents are available to the general public for their review, a copy of their tax documents can be obtained through the IRS for about $40.

Answer 6

Why would anyone have the incentive to start a non-profit insurance company? Sure, it may sound good on paper, but completely unrealistic in real life.

Answer 7

Probably not. The nature of insurance is to make money off of risk. Take away the money and all you have is the risk and the business would not make sense.

Answer 8

Non-profit insurance? Whats next, bring back elixers and snake oil?

Answer 9

What incentive does a private company have to become non-profit?...

Answer 10

"its unconsitutional" The shape is obscure. The Founding Fathers made it obscure on purpose using fact the belief of a clean shape to interchange the Articles of Confederation became no longer universally usual. they choose for to get as a lot of human beings as achieveable to vote for ratification so as that they wrote the form so it would desire to signify each and every little thing to every person. incredibly nonetheless, it became an attempt to make stronger the important government. So usual wellness care is arguably constitutional, it is arguably unconstitutional. in case you will possibly desire to flow back and ask the founding fathers, they could all have diverse evaluations. Thomas soreness as an occasion could incredibly be in choose of it as he became in certainty a socialist till now the be conscious socialist became common. examine his e book Agrarian Justice. besides, whilst it doubt, why no longer take the section that provides human beings wellness care? besides, whether each and every of the founding fathers could be adversarial, so what? in addition they supported slavery. in basic terms using fact they theory something, did no longer make it suitable. "make no economic sence" It makes economic experience is the different industrialized democracy. it incredibly works in basic terms nice there. specific, there are issues yet there are problems with our device too. Their platforms have much less issues, human beings are not pushed to financial ruin. "Like permitting coverage companys to compete in the process state strains" this might properly be a terrible plan. it is going to bring about each and every coverage agency moving to the state with the backside standards. Then each and every person will in basic terms have low-value terrible wellness care with a severe deductible and we can nonetheless have the matters of persons no longer being waiting to have the money for scientific care and persons getting dropped. "giving tax credit" This plan in basic terms looks stupid to me. you're against the government in basic terms giving human beings wellness care yet you're for the government procuring persons's wellness care from a private agency? the two way, the government remains paying in basic terms under your plan, there are coverage agency middlemen. I agree including your suggestion approximately tort reform. Tort reform is physically powerful in spite of the undeniable fact that it isn't going to remedy wellness care issues using fact they have completed it in Texas and wellness care isn't particularly low-value in Texas.