• Re: ³The US Likely Has 8 Years‹At Most‹Before Crisis²

    From Robert Woodward@21:1/5 to Scott Lurndal on Sat Jun 21 21:56:51 2025
    In article <eXF5Q.1406067$qmJf.236143@fx16.iad>,
    scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote:

    (SNIP!)


    Perhaps you might consider eliminating the vast overhead of
    the insurance companies, physician holding companies and
    pharmacy benefits managers that consume better than 50%
    of every healthcare dollar spent. Pure overhead with
    absolutely no benifit.


    Citation on this? I have seen outrageous claims on the overhead of
    insurance companies (they don't have enough employees to suck up even
    20%).

    --
    "We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
    Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. ‹-----------------------------------------------------
    Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Scott Lurndal@21:1/5 to Robert Woodward on Sun Jun 22 13:36:09 2025
    Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> writes:
    In article <eXF5Q.1406067$qmJf.236143@fx16.iad>,
    scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote:

    (SNIP!)


    Perhaps you might consider eliminating the vast overhead of
    the insurance companies, physician holding companies and
    pharmacy benefits managers that consume better than 50%
    of every healthcare dollar spent. Pure overhead with
    absolutely no benifit.


    Citation on this? I have seen outrageous claims on the overhead of
    insurance companies (they don't have enough employees to suck up even
    20%).

    https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/content/dam/UHG/PDF/investors/2023/UNH-Q4-2023-Form-10-K.pdf

    The others are similar. Then factor in the PBM, physician and billing service costs.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Scott Dorsey@21:1/5 to Scott Lurndal on Sun Jun 22 18:32:54 2025
    Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:

    https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/content/dam/UHG/PDF/investors/2023/UNH-Q4-2023-Form-10-K.pdf

    The others are similar. Then factor in the PBM, physician and billing service costs.

    You know, I don't think I have ever seen the numbers before. That is kind
    of horrifying.

    I do remember going to the doctor when the doctor's office was just the doctor and maybe a nurse, and he wrote out the bill and handed it to you. Now there is still just one doctor in my doctor's office but there are 13 other people who mostly do billing and insurance processing work and one lab tech.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Robert Woodward@21:1/5 to Scott Lurndal on Sun Jun 22 22:12:50 2025
    In article <dFT5Q.466924$x6q4.457061@fx46.iad>,
    scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote:

    Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> writes:
    In article <eXF5Q.1406067$qmJf.236143@fx16.iad>,
    scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote:

    (SNIP!)


    Perhaps you might consider eliminating the vast overhead of
    the insurance companies, physician holding companies and
    pharmacy benefits managers that consume better than 50%
    of every healthcare dollar spent. Pure overhead with
    absolutely no benifit.


    Citation on this? I have seen outrageous claims on the overhead of >insurance companies (they don't have enough employees to suck up even
    20%).

    https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/content/dam/UHG/PDF/investors/2023/UNH-Q4-20
    23-Form-10-K.pdf


    If you are going to point me at an 80 page PDF, you really should list
    the pages with the important numbers. Let's see now, the Medical Care
    ratio for 2023 suggests an overhead of 17.8%. I can't see how physician
    holding companies and pharmacy benefits managers could pile up similar
    amounts of money (I will not be amused if the numbers for physician
    holding companies include their salaries or liability insurance
    payments). Again, not enough employees.

    Me, I blame the makers of medical equipment. Hospitals must have all the
    newest gadgets to be considered to be first class and must use them to
    avoid liability judgements if they weren't used.

    --
    "We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
    Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. ‹-----------------------------------------------------
    Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)