ElneClare wrote:
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HMO were created by the government btw. Well, at least the mandates for them. The phrase "pre existing condition" is yet another mandated requirement placed on health care. Those are not the product of private businesses "controlling" people's health care, but government stepping in and creating mandates on those businesses.
I see you're trying to make things up again, while knowing nothing actually about the business you are talking about.
My parents were members of one of the first HMO's in the US back in the mid 70's. It wasn't the cheapest plan they could have gone with when my dad work for the state, but it was the best one for their money in our area. (Columbia Medical plan in Columbia, MD, later as it change hands, to be known as Carefirst of MD.)
Elne. Go look up the HMO act of 1973. While the concept of an HMO existed prior to that point, the HMO act of 1973 mandated that any employer with 25 or more employees who offered any sort of health insurance to their employees were required by law to offer an HMO option. A lot of employers back then offered basic health insurance which covered hospitalization costs for major medical problems, accidents, etc. The HMO idea was to cover all costs related to health care. By passing this act, the government effectively ended the era of insurance just covering major medical problems, and forced employers to offer "complete care" insurance.
That's when things started going horribly wrong with health care in this country.
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Only mandate I am award of is for MCO's under Medicaid, though I'm sure my knowledge much, then for my state the last time I had to choose coverage for myself through a plan set up for those covered by Medicaid in Maryland.
The fact that you are not aware of it, doesn't mean that it didn't happen. The entire point of the HMO act was to create HMOs and get as many workers on them as possible. HMOs were specifically health care organizations which provided wider range of care than traditional insurance. That's when we switched from receiving normal yearly doctor care from an inexpensive local physician and relied on insurance only to cover us in cases of emergency, to a situations where every single prescription, checkup, and bandage comes with a mountain of paperwork and associated costs. It was this act which set us on a course which ultimately priced health care out of reach of most people. Today, it's nearly impossible to obtain health care at all in this country without having insurance. Think about that. 50 years ago, you could walk into a doctors office and get care *and* be able to afford it. You might even get a lolipop as well!
Today is very different and IMO is much worse. And we can blame government regulation for that.