Mostly insurance companies make money by only insuring healthy people, and kicking off people that are not healthy and they have to pay out on. It's like any insurance company.
Insurance companies do not make money by providing healthcare. They make money by not providing healthcare.
Medicare is run by the government. The cost of delivery, as there is no profit taken, is far, far less than the cost of healthcare delivered by every private insurance company in the US.
Preventive health care is ALWAYS less expensive than treating the disease or health problem you are trying to prevent.
If you are in a group of employees sharing insurance costs, what would you rather pay: the lung cancer and emphysema from a smoker, or the cost of his Nicorette? Would you rather pay for mammograms or breast cancer? Colon fecal blood exam or colon cancer? Birth control pills or pre-natal care, delivery, and 20 years of healthcare to a (hopefully) healthy infant?
Cholesterol testing for those over 50 (30 in the US), screening blood tests, colon cancer testing, mammograms, pap smears, prostate cancer exams, annual skin physical exams at a dermatologist, good nutrition counseling, healthy lifestyle - all should be covered for the minimal cost possible because prevention is cheaper for everyone than payment for the illness
That's why it's called the Affordable Care Act. Right now in the US about 1/5 of our economy is healthcare costs. That's beyond absurd. Most other first world countries it's less than 8%.
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"Have the clean racing people run any ads explaining that giving a horse a Starbucks and a chocolate poppyseed muffin for breakfast would likely result in a ten year suspension for the trainer?" - Dr. Andrew Roberts
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