Comments on: The McCain and Obama Health Plans Compared http://its-happening-now.com/mcain-obamahealth-plans-compared Online Home of a Small-Town Liberal... Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:51:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Louis A. Carliner http://its-happening-now.com/mcain-obamahealth-plans-compared/comment-page-1#comment-167 Louis A. Carliner Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:02:51 +0000 http://its-happening-now.com/?p=19#comment-167 There is one major racket that some to many insurance companies offering individual polices: It is the self-destructing class. What happens is that a new class will be offered, and as soon as the desired number of customers are enrolled, the class (or group) will be closed for new enrollees. Then the rates will start to climb, accelerating in amount increments. Pretty soon, well-qualified individuals who have no claims history will leave the group and be enrolled into another class or group offering. The less healthy individuals will find that over the years rate increases will essentially price them out of the marked. I remember in a Jack Anderson column of a couple of decades ago that sicker individuals were colloquially referred to as "clunkers"! McCain's proposal of allowing companies to cross state lines to offer policies will result in a race to the bottom in circumventing state mandates, as what happened with the credit card industry! There has been report of an article that McCain wrote and submitted to an industry oriented publication that advocates the same type of deregulation (supposedly to encourage "competition" [for whom?]) similiar to the Phil Gramm measures that wrecked the investment industry! In my case, because of my ulcerative colitis (mild to moderate), until I became eligible for Medicare, the private health insurance industry would not touch me with a ten-foot colonoscope! In fact there was one company (American Republic Insurance in Iowa) that will underwrite health insurance for a sky diver, but not life insurance! There is one major racket that some to many insurance companies offering individual polices: It is the self-destructing class. What happens is that a new class will be offered, and as soon as the desired number of customers are enrolled, the class (or group) will be closed for new enrollees. Then the rates will start to climb, accelerating in amount increments. Pretty soon, well-qualified individuals who have no claims history will leave the group and be enrolled into another class or group offering. The less healthy individuals will find that over the years rate increases will essentially price them out of the marked. I remember in a Jack Anderson column of a couple of decades ago that sicker individuals were colloquially referred to as “clunkers”!

McCain’s proposal of allowing companies to cross state lines to offer policies will result in a race to the bottom in circumventing state mandates, as what happened with the credit card industry! There has been report of an article that McCain wrote and submitted to an industry oriented publication that advocates the same type of deregulation (supposedly to encourage “competition” [for whom?]) similiar to the Phil Gramm measures that wrecked the investment industry!

In my case, because of my ulcerative colitis (mild to moderate), until I became eligible for Medicare, the private health insurance industry would not touch me with a ten-foot colonoscope! In fact there was one company (American Republic Insurance in Iowa) that will underwrite health insurance for a sky diver, but not life insurance!

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