You want to fight the HCR bill, unite and start our own healthcare COOP

[still_one]

at least that is the view Norman Goldman from the Ed Show is proposing. It is an interesting view

[SIMPLYB1980]

1. That could be a good use of energy?

[still_one]

4. If there was a good organizer, and you could get enough people to join, it would

at least give people a choice

[SIMPLYB1980]

9. And it's could be a good way to fight back against

the insurance industry raising rates. imo

[still_one]

13. but you need a lot of startup money, like George Soros /nt

[Tailormyst]

2. Does anyone know the legalities of that?

[still_one]

3. I don't, that is why I am posting it. If enough people join this "Healthcare COOP", that would

mean they have insurance, and are not required to purchase the government/insurance company version

[napi21]

5. You better get one hell of a lot of people! $$ reserves have to be VERY HIGH for something lie that

to work.

[still_one]

6. I agree, that is the only way it would work. /nt

[Ozymanithrax]

7. This is a beginning...

So What’s a Health Insurance Co-op, Anyway?

[still_one]

10. Thanks, good information /nt

[lapfog_1]

8. All you need is some seed money (so you can immediately pay

out initial benefits to policy holders).

Say, maybe $10 Billion dollars.

Because you need at least a few hundred thousand policy holders to achieve even a small degree of efficiency.

True, you don't have to pay your CEO and executive huge salaries or bonuses, and as a non-profit, you don't have to pay shareholders dividends.

But you still need $10 Billion to start, otherwise you'll never get any quantity deals from "network providers" or Big Pharma. In fact, you might need a hell of a lot more. $100 Billion to start.

It's a great idea. Only very unlikely to happen.

[still_one]

11. What is George Soros up to lately? /nt

[lapfog_1]

15. He's got a lot of money,

but he doesn't have THAT kind of money.

Better to ask the Bill Gates Foundation. It has, or will have in the future, the kind of money we are talking about.

[snot]

12. K&R'd

[Cleita]

14. We have to do something and that could be an idea if you can find

a multi-billionaire sugar daddy to fund it with seed money. It could have the effect of a public option by offering the insurance companies real competition like the public option could have. We need to put these clowns out of business and we do that by refusing to buy their product, but to do that people need an alternative.

[sharesunited]

16. You could also organize a co-op to own the shares of publicly traded health insurance companies.

You might get more bang for your buck that way.

Influence corporate policy AND constitute a ratable group for risk underwriting.