tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post4044053768002183687..comments2024-03-28T00:18:25.641-07:00Comments on Calafia Beach Pundit: The two major sources of our healthcare problemScott Grannishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-17395680960397549192017-04-12T14:06:34.350-07:002017-04-12T14:06:34.350-07:00"Fair share" is a very loaded phrase tha..."Fair share" is a very loaded phrase that makes me cringe. It's totally subjective, and you want bureaucrats to determine what is fair? No thanks. This is not something to mandate or put in any regulation. Free markets are the only way of making things fair: fair for sellers as well as buyers.Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-67141683457661787332017-04-12T14:01:37.279-07:002017-04-12T14:01:37.279-07:00RE Scott Grannis: All of these ways of reducing dr...RE Scott Grannis: All of these ways of reducing drug costs are fundamental changes that will take forever to implement, if ever. My start to this process is a one page rule (mandate?) with probably a few issues to be resolved. But it would pass easily because it is easy to understand: Make foreign countries pay their fair share of drug costs and our drug prices go down. Simple, wimple. Add a NormanBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986709079442388236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-8890955305631775582017-04-12T08:21:06.614-07:002017-04-12T08:21:06.614-07:00NormaB re drug prices: there are lots of ways to e...NormaB re drug prices: there are lots of ways to ensure that drug prices are more rational and reasonable. Reform the tort system so that drug companies don't have to fear exorbitant liability costs. Have Medicare pay market prices for drugs, just like everyone else (currently it's a cross-subsidy situation, in which medicare pays artificially low prices and the rest of us pay Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-54900009021279094712017-04-11T17:07:47.208-07:002017-04-11T17:07:47.208-07:00Way OT but interesting. Tesla now worth more than ...Way OT but interesting. Tesla now worth more than GM.<br /><br />Amazing story.Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-81489024821758238132017-04-10T14:48:44.122-07:002017-04-10T14:48:44.122-07:00William, I really like your idea. I too hate war. ...William, I really like your idea. I too hate war. We could saves both money and lives. However, I do believe there are laws against such a bounty. And if we get the wrong replacement, we'd have to do it all over again. If we do such a thing, let's add Venezuela to the list. <br /><br />I am 71 and still working. I have 4 employees and all make good money. I have always paid for my own WealthMonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04230914888633165083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-54018317299709972932017-04-10T13:50:04.454-07:002017-04-10T13:50:04.454-07:00To Scott Grannis: So what is your solution to the ...To Scott Grannis: So what is your solution to the problem that US drug prices are higher than foreign ones meaning that US citizens are paying for R&D and the foreigners are getting a free ride? Just having the religion of 'NO MANDATES' ain't enough. Use your brain here.NormanBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986709079442388236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-13606921160059992582017-04-08T19:06:51.096-07:002017-04-08T19:06:51.096-07:00If Trump leads the US into a shooting war, then th...If Trump leads the US into a shooting war, then the prospects for healthcare reform, tax reform, and immigration reform become remote. Trump should keep our troops home and instead offer a billion dollar contract on Bashir Assad or Kim Chun Un, dead or alive. A billion dollar bounty would no doubt motivate trusted aids to assassinate these two lunatics. The US focus on wars, globalization, andMcKibbinUSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10545798495680527622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-87840154757735278752017-04-08T15:20:52.343-07:002017-04-08T15:20:52.343-07:00There is another factor that is important and yet ...There is another factor that is important and yet not mentioned. That is the cost of medical education. Graduating physicians have such heavy student debt loads that they are forced to become employees of corporate hospital chains. This gives tremendous control of medical care to the executives of the medical corporate elite. If physicians had some relief from debt they would have the choice Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06920916954563256073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-52251202047297735452017-04-08T11:09:16.948-07:002017-04-08T11:09:16.948-07:00There is a difference between health care and medi...There is a difference between health care and medical insurance.<br /><br />If you had an ObamaCare-compliant medical insurance policy with a $6,000 deductible, for example, the first $6,000 of spending is out of your own pocket ... and that means people may not have enough money in their pockets to get all the health care they really need.<br /><br />Also, it's a sad fact that baby boomers The Cliff Claven of Financehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541954550199246606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-72034086005596061942017-04-07T21:36:48.862-07:002017-04-07T21:36:48.862-07:00Scott, a follow-up question about loans and credit...Scott, a follow-up question about loans and credit.<br /><br />Right now bank credit growth is at its best flat (C&I, L&L, even aggregate growth in banks' balance sheets are almost flat). Some refer to the growth in corp. bond issuance as one explanation for weaker loan demand. But since banks are the main source of new money, if bank generated credit growth stops shouldn’t there be Terexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11407263008463883966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-91511606741752594312017-04-07T21:26:54.007-07:002017-04-07T21:26:54.007-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Terexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11407263008463883966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-88731943756140046312017-04-07T19:36:08.462-07:002017-04-07T19:36:08.462-07:00Nice write up....
the main issue in health care s...Nice write up....<br /><br />the main issue in health care seems to also center around the FIRE industry....<br /><br />Insurance has become a car deal with folks making decisions on monthly payments instead of health...honestcreditguyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04753136939700776989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-944400709213123422017-04-07T19:03:33.269-07:002017-04-07T19:03:33.269-07:00Obamacare is the law of the land, and Republicans ...Obamacare is the law of the land, and Republicans are apparently not going to change that...McKibbinUSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10545798495680527622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-146965532393166342017-04-07T10:32:59.748-07:002017-04-07T10:32:59.748-07:00Scott, you are spot on! So why has no one in congr...Scott, you are spot on! So why has no one in congress offered a bill to phase out employer healthcare tax breaks while phasing in individual healthcare? DanQhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18009589414137471279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-47749498637928402702017-04-06T12:38:12.996-07:002017-04-06T12:38:12.996-07:00http://www.gop.gov/resources/library/documents/ple...http://www.gop.gov/resources/library/documents/pledge/a-pledge-to-america.pdf<br /><br />"Excessive federal regulation is a de facto tax on employers and consumers that stifles job creation, hampers innovation and postpones investment in the economy."<br /><br />Hmmm let's get back to that mentality in the GOP! Instead the majority of the GOP, the President, and the media are Thinking Hardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11528747799967719972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-67289320940438993022017-04-06T11:43:40.623-07:002017-04-06T11:43:40.623-07:00More mandates are the last thing we need to fix ou...More mandates are the last thing we need to fix our healthcare mess. Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-59149309606737048532017-04-06T11:34:28.867-07:002017-04-06T11:34:28.867-07:00Drug cost remedy: Mandate that drugs cannot be sol...Drug cost remedy: Mandate that drugs cannot be sold in the US for more than the average cost incurred by the ten largest foreign buyers of those drugs. NormanBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986709079442388236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-58922485764557931802017-04-06T09:02:09.861-07:002017-04-06T09:02:09.861-07:00Re: "it attempted to rejigger a huge fractio...Re: "it attempted to rejigger a huge fraction of the U.S. economy, and that is something that is virtually impossible to accomplish in a successful fashion by government diktat. Only a freely functioning market economy can make something so huge and so complex work in an efficient manner."<br /><br />As other blog readers have noted, issues of transparency, fear in illness, randyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368254229927808998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-14140043003781258892017-04-06T08:57:36.505-07:002017-04-06T08:57:36.505-07:00Benjamin – Your comment regarding no copays ties i...Benjamin – Your comment regarding no copays ties into my thoughts as well. Posted this on The Grumpy Economist too…<br /><br />One option for consideration is to have proper disincentives in place to prevent unnecessary medical treatment being utilized by the increasing portion of society on Medicaid. This is the crux of the problem, with the enrollment in Medicaid roughly doubling over the last Thinking Hardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11528747799967719972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-45610755489813806352017-04-06T08:22:25.464-07:002017-04-06T08:22:25.464-07:00Re C&I Loans: I've been looking at this is...Re C&I Loans: I've been looking at this issue for some time (i.e., C&I Loans have been flat for an extended period), but have not yet had any great insights. My fallback for now is my belief that lending can facilitate growth, but it can't create growth, and from that it follows that flat credit growth doesn't necessarily signal that the economy is weak or is likely to get Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-52163216509507771872017-04-06T07:46:33.806-07:002017-04-06T07:46:33.806-07:00Scott,
This question does not deal with health ca...Scott,<br /> This question does not deal with health care but I would be interested in your opinion. Banks commercial and industrial loans (BUSLOANS) peaked just prior to, or during the last three recessions. As such it was a pretty good coincident indicator. It has been flat now for about 6 months. Do you see this as a problem for an ongoing economic expansion?xr-3609https://www.blogger.com/profile/08361430517471885323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-78452909308059402402017-04-06T04:49:40.877-07:002017-04-06T04:49:40.877-07:00No one has the Ba98s I mean temerity to address he...No one has the Ba98s I mean temerity to address health the right way. The left wants to give away everything and is shocked when costs go through the roof and those who don't receive 99% of the benefits pay 99% of the cost. stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07387986994469835875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-72611937342385666372017-04-05T22:06:17.527-07:002017-04-05T22:06:17.527-07:00Egads, U.S. healthcare is a mess.
70 million Medi...Egads, U.S. healthcare is a mess.<br /><br />70 million Medicaid recipients, paid by state and federal revenues. No co-pay.<br /><br />59.3 million Medicare recipients, paid mostly from payroll taxes (recipients paid in).<br /><br />21.8 million potential VA recipients, paid from general federal revenues. No co-pay. <br /><br />12.7 million Obamacare recipients, paid for from mix of revenues and Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.com