Replies to post #85307 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[wbmw]

Re: Again, where does 50% come from? Does Humana really have 50% overhead?

First, I think it's important to set the stage on costs, and I found a good summary here that you should read.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2298261/FACTS-ON-HEALTH-CARE-COSTS

Then I tried looking for support for the 50% number, and all I really did find was something that refutes it, but in a fairly believable way.

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/khin/2009/10/refuting-myths-on-health-care.php

This suggests that administrative costs could be cut substantially, but they aren't the biggest cost problem in the health care industry. It's worth a read, too.

And even so, when I think about the administrative costs going towards auditing and claims adjusters, spending on policies and lobbying, spending on advertising, on executive salaries and bonuses, and their spending on lawyers - I think there must be some low hanging fruit available in administrative costs.

We want to get the health insurance industry to be competitive in the pricing and services they provide. We don't want them to fail, but we do want a competitive market. See the first link above to see how out of hand things have become, just in the last 10 years. We have to stop that trend....