NLIC.org

Darrell Said:

why shouldn't obama-ites bail out the doctors who pay such high medical malpractice premiums rather than...?

We Answered:

limiting malpractice claims is up to each state
and some states have already done so

look, we are only first world nation to have
screwed up healthcare
and only for profit insurance system
if you take the profit out you can afford to
treat everybody
you can call it what you want but it works

Charles Said:

Doctors: how does malpractice insurance affect you?

We Answered:

some money gets taken out montly but thats about it . good thing to have i think

Dave Said:

Malpractice Insurance?

We Answered:

Some are lower than 30k, and some are much, much higher. The highest I've heard is about $200k/yr.

Every doctor's premium is different, and we have to fill out about 15 pages of forms to be underwritten for insurance. They take into account what you do (very specifically), your claims history, and where you practice.

Erika Said:

how many believe tort reform and competition will lower health insurance premiums?

We Answered:

Many states already have tort reform. It has not decreased insurance costs or premiums. The cost of malpractice insurance isn't linked to payouts. It is linked to their investment portfolios. When the market goes down, malpractice premiums will go up to make up the difference. Doctors must have it to practice, and the inurance companies know it. So they can charge what they want.

Insurance companies make the bulk of their profit through investment. I work for an insurance company that has homeowners and auto insurance. Our investment portfolio is where we make the most money. You pay premiums, we invest that money. It increases in value so that if you have an accident, we can pay for it and still make a profit. We took a loss last year because we had to take a loss in our investment portfolio.

There is very little competition in health insurance. In some markets there are only a couple of providers, so it really is not competitive. I understand insurance, and I believe that many insurers provide a service. But I think health insurance is a travesty in this country. A good insurance company sells a promise. A promise to be there when you need help. That is what you buy.

But some companies have no problem with doing everything possible to avoid paying when the time comes. And by then it is too late for the consumer. Medical insurance is like that, they deny care to increase profits. They are breaking the promise. I do not know of any health insurer that puts patients first.

Cecil Said:

What does the Republican Health Care bill do to lower insurance premiums?

We Answered:

There is no bill. Are you referring to the past-tensed items that they wanted to include in the law that were ignored?

Bottom line, is plans have already started disappearing and rates have already increased as a direct result of this bill. You cannot have more benefit and lower the cost. Unfortunately this bill failed in targeting anything that would actually lower the costs. All it did was levy additional taxes. So, if you're raising my premium AND taxing me more then you've pretty much failed on all levels.

The bill has some good ideas, but it should have been done in layers. First, allow people to go from group to individual and individual back to group without regard to pre-existing conditions. Reward those who continuously have coverage. Don't allow, as they have, someone to go for years either without coverage or with very low levels of coverage only to then develop a major disease and decide they want to get a better plan.

Maternity benefits have been dropping off plans for the past 6 months. Why? Because in a couple years if an insurance company covers that benefit then any pregnant person that had been going without coverage can sign up and have their pregnancy covered.

There needs to be some 'penalty' period if you go without coverage to prevent you from increasing your coverage or just deciding to get it when you need it. Otherwise, why have it until you need it?