Actually, the article mentioned job creation in real estate and housing. I deliberately left that out because I didn't want my initial post to get too long. Yes, this was a secondary source of jobs, but according to the article it did not create as many as health care. Furthermore, I don't think anyone expects that to continue nor will it be a "job creation engine" for the next several decades. I think we almost all recognize that the real estate environment of the last five years was a rare event created from the giant liquidity pool (or cesspool maybe) that was created from low interest rates and an unusual economic policy.
I know what you're saying, but I am actually incredibly thankful for medical science. I cannot tell you how much good they have done for my family and friends. I could list many examples, but here is just one: my Dad is 70 and a few years ago his knee gave out. He takes good care of himself overall and did nothing bone-jarring except for playing a lot of golf. But somehow the knee had a few chips in it that had worn off and so he could barely walk. Of course, the doctors went in with arthroscopic surgery and cleaned it out and now he's like brand new - almost shooting his age. My Mom is another example. She had a catarract in one eye and would probably be blind in that eye right now except that the doctors popped in a lens surgicially. I could go on and on. I know I'm going against the grain of the thread here, but I am very, very thankful for the "men in white"...
Insurance is for poor people. Rich people reach into their pocket, pull out money and give it to the medical people.
Actually some health care is "exportable". For example, there are people going to Thailand for major surgery. The cost is much less than the US; the doctor's and staff are well trained, many getting trained in the US and Europe. Some insurance companies are accepting this. I don't know if it is practcable; but it seems the multitude of non urgent lab tests could be done in Mexico. Some drug testing is now being done in INdia. FOr Thai medicine: http://www.csmngt.com/medical2.htm CBS report on Thai medicine: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/21/60minutes/main689998.shtml DS
Int'g links. Thx for posting them. But what I meant by exportable is creating a product that the US can sell and make money on overseas. America traing foreign docs and the watching them go back to their homelands is a weak export imo: the US makes little to no money off of it. Yes, the US makes some money off these foreigners when they come in to get trained, but the real cash is made when these docs go back to their homeland and American gets little to nothing off of that (although any US drug companies and medical suppliers do benefit because now these docs are trained in western medicine and order accordingly). But, again, isn't this chump change when you consider that 25% of our GNP is going to be health care?
Congratulations on being so rich. But your original argument was that you are cheap and not that you do not care about the cost cause paying 100K for you is like going to starbuck for the rest.
I believe what you are missing is that he is acting as his own insurance company. Insurance companies aren't in business out of the generosity in their hearts. The business is profitable. On average, premiums take in more than medical services cost. Thus, if you have enough money to underwrite your own health "policy", then you will save money doing this on average. Of course, if your health hits a six sigma event, then you will be wishing you had dumped the risk on someone else. But so would any insurance company. If you are reasonably healthy and have no major risk factors, self insuring is not a bad idea. But it may still be a good idea to get a policy with a massive deductible, just to cover those six sigma events. -Raystonn
A couple big problems with this approach: 1. Insurance companies are given "cut rates" which are much less than the stated rates. This means they actually pay a lot less than the stated cost for most procedures and supplies. Uninsured individuals are going to be charged the stated rates ( much higher - sometimes 30-40% more), and will have a much tougher time negotiating them down since there is no leverage with one person acting alone. You might get them to agree to less if you give them a "hardship scenario", but the whole premise of the story is that you have enough money to pay for the stuff that might happen. Once the hospitals, labs, and doctors figure that out, you will not be seeing any discounts. 2. You could get in a life threatening situation, and be dumped into an inferior hospital or medical center because you have "no insurance". The hospitals will assume you have no money, and you could be in such a state that you can't communicate to them otherwise. If you need some sort of very expensive procedure, or something above and beyond the norm, you may not receive that care, since the assumption is that the hospital will not be paid for it.