Yeah, no. Private insurance is NOT comparable to Medicade. Even if the patient isn’t paying for it, the government is. Private insurance companies under Obama care get to make 25% profit, where Medicare doesn’t profit. Even if you assume equal levels of care, it’s still going to cost the country 25% more because the private insurance companies have to turn profit. If you’re trying to reduce the costs, that means denying care, and you’ll end up looking like UHC.
People on Medicaid are more likely to utilize emergency room services because they have access to fewer providers and have zero incentive to try lower cost services first. It is very reasonable that giving some of these people access to private insurance at very low or no cost will result in significant savings, even after insurer profits since they will be more likely to start with a doctor office visit or urgent care instead of emergency rooms. This should also free ER resources for more urgent medical cases.
Yeah, no. Private insurance is NOT comparable to Medicade. Even if the patient isn’t paying for it, the government is. Private insurance companies under Obama care get to make 25% profit, where Medicare doesn’t profit. Even if you assume equal levels of care, it’s still going to cost the country 25% more because the private insurance companies have to turn profit. If you’re trying to reduce the costs, that means denying care, and you’ll end up looking like UHC.
People on Medicaid are more likely to utilize emergency room services because they have access to fewer providers and have zero incentive to try lower cost services first. It is very reasonable that giving some of these people access to private insurance at very low or no cost will result in significant savings, even after insurer profits since they will be more likely to start with a doctor office visit or urgent care instead of emergency rooms. This should also free ER resources for more urgent medical cases.