DIY?

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

Easy to say:

1. Get fit. More people die of obesity related illness than die from all forms of cancer combined. Also the long term effects of the special extended care needs of overweight people put a drag on the healthcare system.

2. Quit smoking. Most everyone knows of the health risks involved here.

Both not so easily done because it's against human nature to go without but we'll be paying for it.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I am not in favor of tort reform. Being able to sue the incompetents is crucial to keeping them honest.

In Indiana there is a law limiting medical malpractice settlements to (I believe the amount is) $250,000. This should make our insurance cheaper right? Free market and all?

Beeep!

NO, our insurance is as expensive as anybody elses.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

My point in this exercise is to focus in on the real issues, and not bring politics into it...which hampers progress.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Of course because there is so much money to be made in the field of medicine and insurance, politics will always be involved.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

One way would be to fully embrace natural alternatives, instead of passing them off as nonsense. That would also bring new crops for farmers to grow, which would also bring the costs down even more. The cost of getting chemical based medicines to pass FDA are inherently higher than natural, due to the ingredients and testing...and those costs are passed on at a higher rate in the US than in most other countries.

Chiropractic care is another amazing alternative to medicine. Recently, however, many insurance companies put a limit of 8 visits per year. When the average adjustment costs about the same as a normal doctor visit, it doesn't really make sense to limit the number of visits. Chiropractic care and acupuncture kept me walking many years ago when a doctor wanted to do an invasive surgery on my back instead. Each region of your back controls different parts of your body.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

To give an example of the natural versus chemical medicine...My wife had a cough that would cause her to lose sleep. They prescribed a cough medicine laced with Codine, which gave her a massive headache, kind of like a massive hang-over. I mixed her up one of the home remedies that's been passed down in the family for years. Equal parts of Whiskey and honey, with a bit of lemon juice to help loosen the mixture up a bit. After 2 oz of this, it loosened the crud in her chest, soothed her sore throat, and she was able to sleep soundly without issue.

There are a number of remedies like this that work very well with no harming side effects. Her total intake of whiskey from the cough medicine was no worse than a single shot...it was actually a bit less. When I mix it up for the kids, I use less whiskey and more lemon juice...it works well with them, too. They only get one or two tablespoons, no more.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

I'd love to see some real discussion of the effects of allowing insurance competition across State lines.
I "think" it would really help, but wonder if we might end up with 2 or 3 mega health insurance companies. Maybe that would be OK--having overpaid execs in 3 companies rather than 50 companies.
Can anyone foresee the unintended consequences? ( only a little irony in the question)

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I always wonder about this proposition when I look at a state like Alabama, where Blue Cross held 93% of the health insurance market in 2008. If you read the linked Business Journal story you'll note that UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Humana are selling insurance in the state, but they lost market share over the prior two years to the Blues. Could an out-of-state provider with little or no market leverage compete? Doubtful.

The issue is this: Big business, including health insurance providers, writes most of the regulations that affect them. Hence, the regulations tend to allow or even encourage monopoly.

Interesting side note -- a growing provider in Alabama is an HMO program developed by the public-sector University of Alabama-Birmingham (it's mentioned in the article).

BTW, Wisconsin has had a cap on punitive malpractice awards since 1995. A November 2009 annual survey by Mercer Health & Benefits found Wisconsin health insurance costs to be 22% above the national average. Maybe 14 years isn't long enough to have an effect?

The machinery of the medical industry is just like any other big business operation, its running goal is to build profit and scale down cost.The newer game running is buying out any local competition ,for instances ,A privately owned medical office which was specializing in sports medicine was bought out a few months ago by Memorial Herman here locally,a new staff and signs were put up in 2 days. When their is no competition you have a Monopoly,this is were the real fear begins.

Probably need more studies on the effects of tort reform. It "seems" to make sense that limits on damages should lower costs, but maybe that doesn't happen in the real world. We all hear about astronomical settlements for relatively minor injuries. In reality those are probably the exception that we remember. I know my wife's experience with being hit in a few accidents and injured as a result has been disappointing, to say the least. Insurance companies offer nearly nothing, and her lawyer doesn't seem to be able to get them to open up very much.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Agreed, the absurd example can make one's blood boil. But your experience is likely much more common. The laws are written for the insurance providers.

Yes, the thing about monopoly is that it creates the most efficient market. You can bet that Blue Cross is pretty much setting the rates for health care in Alabama, and as a result can underprice everybody else.

We may be better off looking at health insurance like the electric company. One provider tends to dominate in a market, just like a utility, so maybe the answer is to regulate them as such. Establish rate-setting panels in every state.

That should have been enough time to payoff the bribes....

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On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

Capping awards doesn't affect medical costs. It affects insurance costs.