CoronaBro Meltdown/SARS-Covid-19 Spitballing Thread

[steve dave]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Tbh I think their preference is not to pay for services. I'm not sure they see their job as to get people to go and get preventive care.

their only job is to make money for their shareholders. and cheap ass preventative care does that.

[Justwin]

They cannot adjust their premiums.  It is against the law.  As I stated before, you can only charge a differential premium based on age, zip code and tobacco status.

Yeah… we need to fix that.

And the law will evetually adapt just like tobacco status.  Insurance companies don't pay the dummy tax very long.  Sooner rather than later the dummies have to pay it.

Yes, we should fix it as long as we also allow insurance companies to charge different premiums based on things like weight, diabetes status, likelihood to become pregnant, etc. and also allow them to fully charge the actuarially fair premium differential based on age.

I don't foresee the law changing.  I imagine it is pretty far down on Democrats' priorities and I doubt Republicans will support it.  Insurance companies don't pay the tax, policy holders do.  The "dummy" tax is already paid based on lots of medical conditions (see above) and it hasn't brought about any change to the ACA.

welp

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/business/delta-unvaccinated-insurance-cost-increase/index.html

Once again, this is an employer, not a health insurance company.  There is a good chance this will be litigated and we'll see what happens.  I would guess they will set it up as a wellness incentive, but there are limits to how much you can offer in wellness incentives.

[sys]

Health insurers are no long waiving cost-sharing (deductibles, copays, coinsurance) for COVID-19 treatments...

oh, that's probably what i saw and i misread it as not paying for hospitalization.

[Justwin]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Then why don't they find every way to charge fat people more, charge people with diabetes more, charge women more since they might become pregnant, etc.  There is a difference between what employers can do and what health insurers can do.

[Spracne]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Then why don't they find every way to charge fat people more, charge people with diabetes more, charge women more since they might become pregnant, etc.  There is a difference between what employers can do and what health insurers can do.

Pretty sure that's a HIPAA violation.

[kim carnes]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Then why don't they find every way to charge fat people more, charge people with diabetes more, charge women more since they might become pregnant, etc.  There is a difference between what employers can do and what health insurers can do.

I mean, there’s no vaccine to prevent those things.

[Dugout DickStone]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Tbh I think their preference is not to pay for services. I'm not sure they see their job as to get people to go and get preventive care.

Option 1: insure unvaxxed person who gets delta, goes into ICU for a week and runs up a $400k bill, they have a $5,000 deductible...
Option 2: turn the screws on an unvaxxed, they get vaxxed and get the delta, they pay for cough medicine and a doctor visit themselves.

[kim carnes]

Don’t most large companies pay for medical costs themselves and only use insurers to administrate their plans? 

[Justwin]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Then why don't they find every way to charge fat people more, charge people with diabetes more, charge women more since they might become pregnant, etc.  There is a difference between what employers can do and what health insurers can do.

Pretty sure that's a HIPAA violation.

Well you don't say...

[Justwin]

Don’t most large companies pay for medical costs themselves and only use insurers to administrate their plans?

Yes, that's why linking articles about what employers are doing is not the same as what health insurance companies are doing.

[Justwin]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Tbh I think their preference is not to pay for services. I'm not sure they see their job as to get people to go and get preventive care.

Option 1: insure unvaxxed person who gets delta, goes into ICU for a week and runs up a $400k bill, they have a $5,000 deductible...
Option 2: turn the screws on an unvaxxed, they get vaxxed and get the delta, they pay for cough medicine and a doctor visit themselves.

How are health insurers going to implement Option 2?  I am talking about health insurers, not employers.  You might want to talk to Spracne...

[Spracne]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Tbh I think their preference is not to pay for services. I'm not sure they see their job as to get people to go and get preventive care.

Option 1: insure unvaxxed person who gets delta, goes into ICU for a week and runs up a $400k bill, they have a $5,000 deductible...
Option 2: turn the screws on an unvaxxed, they get vaxxed and get the delta, they pay for cough medicine and a doctor visit themselves.

How are health insurers going to implement Option 2?  I am talking about health insurers, not employers.  You might want to talk to Spracne...

Lol. The HIPAA comment was a joke. Might violate some other law, but I have no idea.

[catastrophe]

Don’t most large companies pay for medical costs themselves and only use insurers to administrate their plans?

Yes, that's why linking articles about what employers are doing is not the same as what health insurance companies are doing.

But why is the distinction so important then? Most people not on like Medicare are insured through their work, and most of the biggest employers are self insured.

It’s like you’re quibbling over an article that says drinking champagne is good for your heart but they only studied sparkling wine.

[Justwin]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Tbh I think their preference is not to pay for services. I'm not sure they see their job as to get people to go and get preventive care.

Option 1: insure unvaxxed person who gets delta, goes into ICU for a week and runs up a $400k bill, they have a $5,000 deductible...
Option 2: turn the screws on an unvaxxed, they get vaxxed and get the delta, they pay for cough medicine and a doctor visit themselves.

How are health insurers going to implement Option 2?  I am talking about health insurers, not employers.  You might want to talk to Spracne...

Lol. The HIPAA comment was a joke. Might violate some other law, but I have no idea.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/insurance/health-insurers-can-t-charge-higher-premiums-to-those-who-don-t-get-a-covid-19-vaccine-but-those-people-still-could-wind-up-paying-more/ar-AANsVcs

Health insurers are a different story. A slew of state and federal regulations in the last three decades have heavily restricted their ability to use health factors in issuing or pricing polices. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act began prohibiting the use of health status in any group health insurance policy. And the Affordable Care Act, passed in 2014, prevents insurers from pricing plans according to health – with one exception: smoking status.

[Justwin]

Don’t most large companies pay for medical costs themselves and only use insurers to administrate their plans?

Yes, that's why linking articles about what employers are doing is not the same as what health insurance companies are doing.

But why is the distinction so important then? Most people not on like Medicare are insured through their work, and most of the biggest employers are self insured.

It’s like you’re quibbling over an article that says drinking champagne is good for your heart but they only studied sparkling wine.

Because even they can't charge different premiums, but can offer wellness incentives.  There are caps on how much an employer can offer in wellness incentives.

[Phil Titola]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Then why don't they find every way to charge fat people more, charge people with diabetes more, charge women more since they might become pregnant, etc.  There is a difference between what employers can do and what health insurers can do.

I mean, there’s no vaccine to prevent those things.

Yeah this seems like a pretty easy one.

[Trim]

Euthanize the voluntarily unvaccinated.

[Dugout DickStone]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Tbh I think their preference is not to pay for services. I'm not sure they see their job as to get people to go and get preventive care.

Option 1: insure unvaxxed person who gets delta, goes into ICU for a week and runs up a $400k bill, they have a $5,000 deductible...
Option 2: turn the screws on an unvaxxed, they get vaxxed and get the delta, they pay for cough medicine and a doctor visit themselves.

How are health insurers going to implement Option 2?  I am talking about health insurers, not employers.  You might want to talk to Spracne...

Lol. The HIPAA comment was a joke. Might violate some other law, but I have no idea.

lol obviously.

[Justwin]

If you think insurance companies will not find every way they can to impose the vaccine then....

Tbh I think their preference is not to pay for services. I'm not sure they see their job as to get people to go and get preventive care.

Option 1: insure unvaxxed person who gets delta, goes into ICU for a week and runs up a $400k bill, they have a $5,000 deductible...
Option 2: turn the screws on an unvaxxed, they get vaxxed and get the delta, they pay for cough medicine and a doctor visit themselves.

How are health insurers going to implement Option 2?  I am talking about health insurers, not employers.  You might want to talk to Spracne...

Lol. The HIPAA comment was a joke. Might violate some other law, but I have no idea.

lol obviously.

Spracne may have intended it as a joke, but the inability to implement Option 2 is all about federal regulation.  See above.

[steve dave]

yfw a significant portion of your voting base is anti-vax

https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1430656503090978816

[star seed 7]

Our main office has someone from the state vaxin' people tomorrow on site, spouses and kids welcome. First 25 get free Clint black tickets!

[michigancat]

Our main office has someone from the state vaxin' people tomorrow on site, spouses and kids welcome. First 25 get free Clint black tickets!

That sounds great. Do you think anyone will take them up on it?

[Spracne]

yfw a significant portion of your voting base is anti-vax

https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1430656503090978816

Not that he necessarily has a leg to stand on here, but I will say that (1) when Rick Perry was governor, there was almost a revolt when he briefly mandated HPV vaccinations for young girls (to prevent cervical cancer), and (2) Abbott, currently afflicted with COVID, has said in interviews that he credits the vaccine for why he's been able to withstand it without worse complications.

[catastrophe]

I thought the HPV mandate was unnecessary given that it really was a matter of personal health. Obviously the COVID vaccine is different not just because it makes spread less likely but COVID itself is posing a serious threat to our healthcare system.

[michigancat]

I thought the HPV mandate was unnecessary given that it really was a matter of personal health. Obviously the COVID vaccine is different not just because it makes spread less likely but COVID itself is posing a serious threat to our healthcare system.

Yes but you're only telling women what to do with HPV