1. How to Make a Difference blog (by Tim Harford’s wife)
3. Making health insurance competitive across state lines: how much would be saved? I don’t agree completely with this analysis but it is one place to start.
4. Best sports pieces ever written? (via Craig Newmark)
The Le Clezio article reminded me of this piece by TC on the incentives of the people running the Oscars.
Re: Sports journalism; Bill Bryson, Jr. in The Thunderbolt Kid suggests that Bill Bryson, Sr. was among the greats — a idea that occurred to him (Jr) rather recently.
#3
“It is well known among experts that “community-rating† will drive up premiums over time, because it forces younger and healthier individuals to subsidize, with their premiums, older or sicker persons.”
So, what type of insurance doesn’t have the young, healthy, productive subsidize the sick? It is health socialism, the only good part of which is that it is voluntary…so far.
“With the right combination of very high deductibles, co-insurance, exclusions, upper limits on sundry services and many constraints on prescription drugs, an insurer may well be able to quote a family an annual premium of only $5,800″
Yeah, so? What’s wrong with high deductibles?
I’m sick. Sick of people talking around all the mundane details of this issue without understanding what the system is.
Someone with some sway should look into all the cash stashed away by the “not-for-profit” state insurance companies. Even so, the problem is expensive procedures. You can either not do those procedures, by private insurance exclusions, or public system exclusions, or you can encourage over time cost reductions by proper incentives.
What would Tyler Cowen be like after a year in solitary confinement, deprived of the constant whirlwind of information in which he seems to live? Would he be better or worse off? Would it change him at all?
“Major corporations can already shop around the different states where they operate.” wrote David.
Yes, and this can be a complete pain in the ass.
An employer once insured us through Blue Cross of Pennsylvania, although we lived/worked in Illinois. We were continually getting claims rejected because the doctor/hospital would send them to the wrong place.
Imagine if auto insurance covered oil changes, new tires, etc. after the first $15 “co-pay.”
BMW has the cost of maintenance for the first few years built into the price of the car. Cars also don’t cost you a couple hundred thousand dollars all at once. In the cases where this can happen, you are required by law to hold insurance or prove you can pay without needing it. Secondly, how much money in health care dollars are spent by regular checkups versus spent on extremely expensive care? Is forcing people to pay out of pocket for the little things, really going to save any money? How many people waste time going to the doctor, just because it’s cheap and I might as well? If at the point I need expensive care an insurance company is just going to jack up my rates anyways, why pay when I’m healthy?
are there this all?
Is it realistic?
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