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The Coming Great Recession, Brought To You By The Healthcare Cartel
Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,
So what happens when an insatiable state-mandated cartel attaches itself to households with declining real incomes?
Why the coming Great Recession is brought to you by the Healthcare Cartel is painfully simple: in an era of stagnant household incomes, every additional dollar devoted to rising healthcare insurance, outrageously unaffordable medications and soaring co-pays is one less dollar that's available to be saved, invested or spent on something other than healthcare.
Recent headlines tell the story: off-patent medications suddenly leap in price, healthcare premiums jump 25+% in a single year, co-pays increase and the deductibles on many insurance plans are so high that the coverage is more phantom than real: if you have to spend $5,000 before your insurance plan pays $1, what value is the coverage?
If the plan costs $5,000 a year, but doesn't pay a dime of expenses until you've spent $5,000, then the plan actually costs $10,000.
No wonder rising healthcare costs are tightly correlated with recessions, as longtime correspondent B.C.'s chart reveals: as healthcare expenses consume more oxygen, the rest of the economy starts gasping for air:
Total healthcare expenditures are generally under-estimated, distorting the full consequences of soaring healthcare:
Adjusted for inflation, healthcare expenditures have risen 55% since 2000:
Compared to our developed-nation competitors, the U.S. spends an inordinate amount of healthcare spending on the elderly. Why? because it's so profitable, and the federal government pays the bills, no questions asked--even when the billing is fraudulent or inflated, or the medications and procedures are needless or even harmful.
So what happens when an insatiable state-mandated cartel attaches itself to households with declining real incomes?
There is less money to spend in the rest of the economy, which stumbles into recession.
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I agree but the 'system' will never relinquish control. It will plead 'safety' until it breaks.
There are many obvious ways to decrease costs. These seem to be intentionally ignored.
The problem is financialization and regulation driving the costs of things through the roof.
Take any medicine and in its simplest form and packaging it probably costs less than 0.05cents per capsule to produce.
Now slap government, a board of directors, shareholders, financialization, regulation , doctors, prescription requirements on that capsule... all of the sudden a 0.05 cent medication costs 60$ a pill.
lol
its madness.
I dont understand why 9000share-holders have to profit off one person with a strep infection when 900 year old medication that costs nothing to produce can cure it in 2 days.
Capitalism is great, Service based economies run by corrupt monopoly banks blow ass.
The problem is and always wil be the fact that the gov't got involved. Simple, really simple. Any blame that is cast is being cast at a symptom!
Its true! American invented medicine is sold cheaper to Europeans and Asian nations than it is to Americans.
HOW ARE WE PAYING THE MOST FOR MEDICINE WE INVENTED LOL?
Other nations are reaping our rewards before us.
And weed still isnt legal because its like a cheap readily available alternative and more effective drug than 99% of the medications out there and everyone knows it.
If everyone in pain was prescribed weed instead of vicodin or other opiates 99% of drug addiction in this country would of never happened in the first place.
The USA has been living on borrowed money for decades. Things are just catching up to the balance sheet reality. Ultimately we were going to be poorer in the future. This is just one way it could have played out. In the end, we are exceptional in many ways....but not in every way. At the end of the day bills must be paid and we are finally paying them.
The healthcare system has been screwed up for half a century. It really started with insurance companies giving into a few docs charging huge fees (pleading 'usual and customary') and causing rises in all other fees. As a doc I don't mind getting paid more (hell no) but if the average person cannot afford your services without insurance....then the average person cannot your services. Insurance came to be used to cover all costs, not just the large and unforeseeable. Thus we got sucked into the void. Insurance now controls all. If you don't have insurance or at the very least an agreement on price, before your procedure, you will be eaten alive. This is especially true at hospitals where ten times reasonable is the starting point.
I can't tell you how screwed up it goes from there.
If you think it is expensive now, wait til it's free!!
And to think, good 'ole ('Hans') Gruber didn't flinch at all describing on camera what this Scam was all about...
Bad chart, CHS, healthcare and recessions - it just shows that health care spending is less affected by recession, you can't divide by overall spending when showing a relationship, they're not independent lines.
I think there will be an incredible black market for painless and easy suicide methods, for those who say "f-ck it", and decide to leave the money they worked their whole life for to their family instead of a greedy healthcare corporation. Those greedy corps only need two or three months to basically drain a family to zero and the negative beyond.
Cronyism runs deep in health care and it always come back to the same insurance company that has monopolized HHS and CMS for years, going back to Hillary Clinto who let United Healthcare in the door with hiring Lois Quam. Those two go back to White Water days and she was the executive for United who put the United/AARP deal together amongst a lot of other things. Senator Warren's daughter runs an exec CEO/Exectuve placement agency and she and Andy Slavitt, who now runs Medicare (a former Goldman banker and United VP from the Ingenix days) also created a company together as I assume they both met at the McKinsey CEO school. Cronyism?
While everyone was side tracked on the United ACA story of woe, which I think was done to manipulate stock a bit, they company was busy buying a home care infusion company that will work right into their pharmacy benefit management. And..that's not all folks, there's a good chance they will be buying Helios, a huge workers comp PBM management company soon...see if that one comes to light soon as well.
http://ducknetweb.blogspot.in/2015/11/optumrx-united-healthcare-buys-home.html
All these companies have to make money selling your data as well, $180 billion a year business, and CEO of United now sits on the board of Cargill, the evil twin brother company of Monsanto...Anyway, they are setting in stone their profits while there's little concern over the quality of care we get.
All according to plan. ObamaCare was designed to fail in order to transition us to a single payer system.
And when the single payer system finally engages, the question will be:
How do you spell RATION?
It depends whether one had Health Insurance in the first place, so waiting for medical care might be a far better alternative than no medical health care in the first place. But --of course--no one here would think of that!
I remember listening to Rush Limbaugh years ago and his argument against expanding insurance to those without was that that putting more people into medical system would mean longer wait time for HIM.
Congress would never pass a Single Payer system. Waaaay too expensive. Would cost trillions and trillons. No way in my opinion. ObamaCare itself is unaffordable.
Healthcare and College Tuition are the biggest INFLATION scams going. All these students protest for free college and debt relief when they need to PROTEST the TUITION COST. Colleges are financially raping our kids. Healthcare is financially raping everyone.
ACA/Obamacare needs to be repealed. It has not lowered hardly anyones healthcare costs. We dropped to a Silver plan this year just to try and save money. Deductibles are awful
But the real joke is that “healthcare” imposed by government and the AMA has nothing to do with health.
I mean, I think it’s a joke – it could be worse.
The word “healthcare” in today’s world actually means “a program to subsidize prescription drugs and related services.”
The problem here is that “prescription drugs” are laced with small amounts of poisons. The word “prescription” means that the drug involved has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration. Before the FDA will accept a concoction for testing, the applicant must provide a so-called LD50, which stands for “Lethal Dosage 50%”; a form that declares the amount of poison involved that will kill 50% of those who take it.
In other words, ‘healthcare” is nothing more than a system of plunder that slowly kills those who buy into it while it slowly leads them to death.
A better alternative – for those who do not wish for death – is a regimen of health supplements and nutrient rich foods; preferably one that REVERSES – not SLOWS – the aging process. Here’s an introduction to such a regimen that has reduced my biological age by 50 years ( video (3½ min) and webpage – each leads to the other).
Whenever the government passes laws, whether they be for surveillance like the Patriot Act or TPP or ACA, you can be sure that the first order of business is not to ask whether these laws are helpful to the regular citzens, rather you have to ask first:
"Now what special interest(s) stand to benefit from the passage of this law?"
Then you will know why the law was passed.
the problem is with the middle man:insurance. Think single payer. Regulate pharma prices. Institute death panels. No hip transplants for 96 yo. Means test.
God Damn it! ACA is yet the second to last stake into the heart of the American middle class! (The food supply will be the final conflict.)
As Dylan Ratigan tiraded on FOX news years ago (by the way where is he? I don't watch MSM anymore):
IT IS ALL ABOUT THE EXRACTION!! THE EXTRACTION OF WHATEVER MIDDLE CLASS SAVINGS OR WEALTH THAT IS LEFT FOR THE ELITES TO PLUNDER!!!
I have patients in my office who "pay the tax" rather than enroll in ACA. So the numbers of uncovered have not improved, because they can't afford the premiums. If they do enroll, then they have no money left to pay the outrageous deductibles and copays. Taxing them leaves them with fewer dollars to pay out of their own pocket.
Now I realize that people have to be responsible for helping themselves to a certain degree, like making wise health choices/life styles, and having some savings but this ACA has swung the pendulum too far. In fact the Banksters and Elites effectively PUNISH people from even trying to save for an emergency fund because they will stealth tax it or inflate it away or swindle people on WallStreet out of their savings.
Great Comment. my sister 56 just had some minor knee surgery. Her premium is 500 and her upront deductible is $4000. He insurance costs her $10,000 a year to use it. That represents 30% of her take home pay.
I think we are already in a slowdown and that it won't matter wheher the Fed hikes or not. Here are my thoughts on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8kLV-H1Yqk
And yet not a single shot has been fired in anger.
Standard Disclaimer: What's up with that?
Here are some more signs of a coming recession.
1. Factory orders continue to drop
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-02/us-factory-orders-flash-recession-warning-drop-yoy-10th-month-row
2. Default risk spikes
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-02/us-financials-default-risk-spikes-2-year-high
3. M&A set record
http://michaelekelley.com/2015/05/29/mergers-and-acquisitions-set-record/
4. Fed sees 2 bubbles
http://michaelekelley.com/2015/02/20/fed-warns-of-two-bubbles/
o Commercial Property higher than pre-2007 level.
http://nreionline.com/finance-investment/cre-prices-are-now-officially-above-pre-recession-peak
o Global Corporate Debt Market hits $5 trillion.
http://fn.dealogic.com/fn/DCMRank.htm
5. Iron ore prices tumble
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iron-ore-prices-keep-crashing-adding-to-global-growth-fears-2015-11-30
6. Baltic dry shipping index tumbles
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shipping-index-falls-to-all-time-low-stoking-fears-about-global-growth-2015-11-19
Here is how to prepare.
http://michaelekelley.com/2014/10/16/8-things-to-do-when-recession-happens/
Here is how to get your mind off this stuff.
http://michaelekelley.com/category/humor/
Good luck!
The chart that shows annual per capita health care cost per age probably indicates health condition of American patients as they enter into health care system run by Medicare. Unlike Europeans who all throughout their lives were able to obtain health coverage, many Americans by age 66 are finally able to treat their chronic medical conditions for the first time.
Sickcare
Another nail in the American middle class coffin
Provided by the purple lipped FUCK in the White Castle
Cannabis cures (some? all?) cancer. Is it any wonder the medical industry supports "A Drug Free America"?
Poor and even Deadly Government Approved Health Standards
"If the plan costs $5,000 a year, but doesn't pay a dime of expenses until you've spent $5,000, then the plan actually costs $10,000."
No it doesn't - Sorry but this is a chicken shit way to look at insurance.
I paid $4K for my homeowners insurance, $3K for my auto insurance and $1,500 for an umbrella policy.
I had zero claims - does that make these policies a bad thing?
Would I have been better off if my fucking home burned down and I ran into a school bus? That way I could say I got my moneys worth.
You buy insurance to protect youself against major losses - not routine shit that you SHOULD be able to cover out of savings without it destroying your life.
ACA-compliant policies are required to cover the little stuff that you and I agree should be paid for out of pocket. That is a big part of the problem. You can't get an ACA-compliant catastrophic care only policy. All the "Christmas tree ornaments" add to the cost.
I too pay for a deluxe homeowner's policy and two vehicles. My house was repainted this year and about $2,000 of drainage improvements were made. Soon, I'll need to have 2-3 large trees removed from near my house. Fine. Those expenses are and should be mine, not the insurance company's house. They might be willing to write some riders for such maintenance items, but the cost would be terrible. If my homeowner's coverage had to meet guidelines similar to ACA-compliant healthcare coverage, I'd have to drop my homeowner's too.
Unaffordable.
Then remove the Insurance companies from Health care unless it is for catastrophic instances. We would see the prices then go down. The Doctor's like to pretend they are upset with the system too, but in actuality many doctors are wealthy because of the jacked up prices they charge due to insurance.
I agree -
What we have now in healthcare would be like an auto insurance policy covering oil changes, batteries and tires.
The author of this article is so fucking stupid they expect the policy to cover gasoline, wiper blades and car washes too.
How much would that cost?
Single payer plan--The GOV'T-- was the plan from the beginning all along. I thought everyone knew that :)
hopefully...and then they can simply reduce care/benefits.
other countries seem to be able to deliver care but the us healthcare system and its sycophants do not want to figure out how.