08-26-2009, 02:35 AM
Quote:You're saying that my reaction will be to *raise* prices, because I'm scared of low prices? How does that make sense? You compete by cutting prices, not raising them! And if I wouldn't do it for donuts, why would insurance companies do it for insurance?
I respect what your saying but think your comparing apples to oranges here. To keep doing business "as usual", they [private health-coverage insurers] will have to raise their rates to provide the same level of service. If they lower their rates as you suggest, they will have to offer a lower level of service to compete else go bankrupt. This lower level of service will eventually loose customers in the long-run to 'Plan America'.
Currently, my mother-in law works for Health Net and they recently (within the last year) raised their rates once they got a solid taste of what was to come. Perhaps they are setting the bar to a higher standard that the American health coverage plan will have to compare to? I think they are preparing for the future by putting away money they already know they'll need to keep their business afloat. FYI, Health Net is currently downsizing any and everywhere it can in preparation for such event, but how much can they do against 'Plan America' at competitive rates and still offer the services they do? They can't IMO.
"The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self." -Albert Einsetin