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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Catastrophic policies are now OUTLAWED by Obamacare.[/quote]
Yes they are, - and that's what insurance really should be for. You don't insure your car for oil changes or new tires, but for the major expenses. But Obama couldn't allow us to buy that catastrophic insurance  because he needed more of us in the pool so that lower income would get every little sneeze and cough paid for.

I would much prefer to buy catastrophic care - or what the PP above you called "hospitalization" and what my oarents called "major medical." The problem is the minor things - a quick visit to the doctor for a throat swab - now runs into several hundred dollars, so people need to have coverage for that. IF every minor thing was NOT covered by insurance - for everyone - costs would come down.

In other words, our problem is not that we have too little insurance (as a nation). The problem is we have too MUCH. But if you have some people getting everything covered by insurance at no cost to them (the poor people), there is no price sensitivity for them - and the costs zoom. But then you have the LM people who do have to pay all the zoomed-up costs, and that's where we find ourselves now.
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No... costs would not come down, at all.  Pre-ACA, MRIs in this country was 10x as much as in other countries, for the same MRI equipment.  Same for RX drugs. It's the actual cost of healthcare that is charged by corporations for things like drugs and imaging.  Again, such high costs were in existence PRE ACA.   Government in those other countries regulate the cost of healthcare.  That's what we need here, but it will never happen.  But, this is really the only way to bring down the cost of healthcare in this country.  Agreed, not even ACA could bring these costs.

Two ways to bring it down for everyone:  either regulate the costs or provide universal healthcare (or as close as possible) so that the government has the clout to negotiate down prices.[/quote]
That is all a function of insurance, even pre-ACA. People weren't really paying for services....middle class had insurance that paid for it and the poor, well....someone else paid for them.

Go back further, BEFORE throat cultures and a quick visit to the doctor were covered by insurance policies, and when people had only major medical. Those were the days when a doctor's visit cost $5. Adjusted for inflation, that's maybe $30 today. So how are doctors getting away charging $400 for a 10-minute visit? Because insurance is paying for it - and there is no price sensitivity. If insurance did NOT pay for it, the doctor couldn't get away charging astronomical prices. You'd see costs come down.[/quote]
I had private insurance prior to ACA, and I got charged a huge amount for an ultrasound.  I paid it out of pocket because I had a high deductible plan. It was about $1000.  My friend in the UK paid zero for her ultrasound.  I paid $6000 total for a c section OOP.  Friend paid $30 in the UK for her c section. Again, this is all pre ACA.

If you have a low copay plan today, you are still only paying $10 or so for an office visit; same as pre ACA.  If you have a high deductible plan today, you are paying the full cost (or negotiated priced) of that service; same as pre ACA.

I don't know where you get the idea that middle class had insurance that paid for all the services pre ACA and had no OOP like we do today.  It just happens to depend on the type of insurance you have.

Like I said, the only way to control costs is to regulate or have the government use its huge negotiating power like it does with medicaid today.

Try going to the doctor's office and tell them you have no insurance. They wil charge you about $120 for an office visit.[/quote]

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