Look for mergers and acquisitions in health insurance and services

[FarCenter]

I'd expect health insurance companies to merge or go out of business until we get down to three or four, limited only by anti-trust.

Similarly, hospitals, clinics, medical practices, testing labs, etc. will all be consolidating.

My physician's practice is joined with several and others for billing, electronic records, out-of-hours service, etc., and they are having a terrible time with the electronic records and billing software. They need to get much bigger to be able to spread the overheads of all the infrastructure to comply with rules and regs.

[CreekDog]

1. do you support single payer?

if not, this is what you get when you try to keep the current system but not allow it to exclude people and exclude conditions/treatment.

there is no in between.

[FarCenter]

3. I'd support single payer for a limited set of necessary and effective services and treatments

Routine medical care (e.g. annual exam, flu shots), treatments like cosmetic surgery to improve already acceptable appearance (e.g. pouty lips from collagen injection), and treatments of uncertain effectiveness (e.g. acupuncture) should be paid for on either a cash basis or through privately issued and purchased insurance.

[CreekDog]

7. Hmm, nobody here has advocated single payer pay for "pouty lips"

[Hoyt]

2. There are incentives in "Obamacare" to do just that -- Accountable Healthcare Organizations.

I'm convinced a more integrated system is badly needed. That is one of the biggest problems with our system, it's not well integrated.

[FarCenter]

5. More than single payer, we need a regulated utility model for the delivery of service

i.e. if you have Type II Diabetes or need kidney dialysis you go to the local medical utility for the treatment and drugs.

Treatments would be standardized and drugs would be prescribed on the basis of effectiveness, not television advertising.

[Hoyt]

6. You get that with organizations like Kaiser Permanente. They have problems, but I've been pleased.

It doesn't have all the frills (that mean nothing) -- but too many Americans expect to go to any doctor they want to, as often as they want to, etc. I can guarantee they won't prescribe the latest heavily advertised drug that costs 10 times what the old standard costs (but is only .0000623% "better&quot .

[nanabugg]

4. GREAT!!!! We will get universal healthcare one way or another. nt

[Comrade_McKenzie]

8. Good. Maybe this will create some jobs. I'll gladly do paperwork all day. nt

[nanabugg]

9. It's been happening for years... Your point? nt