On healthcare and the upcoming election…
It’s no secret that the two major candidates for President have vastly different takes when it comes to healthcare reform (here’s Obama’s plan and here’s McCain’s plan).
And now, fears over which way it will go have started to filter into various SEC filings, mostly in the form of risk factors. Among those companies warning are Cerner (CERN), Cardionet (BEAT), Genoptix (GXPX) and EHealth (ELTH). Most of the warnings are variations on this, which are identical at Cardionet and Genoptix, which probably means they must have the same external lawyers working on their SEC filings:
In addition, as a result of the focus on healthcare reform in connection with the 2008 Presidential election, there is risk that Congress may implement changes in laws and regulations governing healthcare service providers, including measures to control costs or reductions in reimbursement levels, which may have an adverse impact on our business.
But some go a bit further, like EHealth, which warns that “certain candidates for the 2008 presidential election have espoused as part of their overall campaign platform variations of a universal healthcare system that would require substantial number of individuals to purchase or otherwise obtain health insurance for themselves and/or their children. We cannot be certain of the impact of any new legislation at the state or federal level, but it could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.”
The oddest disclosure related to healthcare and the upcoming election comes from Petmeds (PETS), which warned that all of that election-time advertising made it more difficult and expensive for them to buy advertising time.
While I try to stay out of politics on this site, those who follow footnoted pretty closely can probably figure out where I stand. Let’s just put it this way: if there was decent health insurance in this country, I could hire more people to read filings.
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June 18th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Dear Michelle, as a disabled patient (SSI) I have a great deal of interest in this area. I used to work in the medical field as a Medical Transcriptionist. After much reading and study on this issue I’ve come to one conclusion. The current Health Care Model, American-Style is all about profits and does not ADD ANY VALUE TO THE PRODUCT.
Instead, the multiplicity of private industry forms and billings techniques prohibits physicians from spending more time with patients. In addition, as has been proven in a recent California case against Blue Cross, private industry places profit over care. They have much to lose if America decides to do away with what can only be considered parasitical capitalism.
There are billions of dollars wasted in this system to pay for non-medical related items. This county can no longer afford to believe in the BIG LIE President Bush likes to use about this topic, i.e, Consumer Choice, Consumer Choice–and how wonderful it is that Americans have so many choices, and isn’t that what’s great about Democracy.
It seems this is a case of predatory capitalism shoved down the throats of physicians and heath care providers as well as the American public. The real reason that traction on reform will likely not come easy is that conservative organizations such as the American Medical Association probably rightly fear that some sort of Universal Care might lead to caps on physician’s incomes.
This entire (Private) industry should go the way of wagon-wheel makers. It is difficult to have sympathy for parasites. People will lose their jobs. Communities that depend on these industries will suffer economically. This is not a win-win situation. Right now the American public is the clear loser and the reason? Choice trumps cost control. It’s hard not to be angry about a system that is so antithetical to good business practices.
I’m not an economist, but this type of SCAM seems to indicate that maybe market-based capitalism is in error or perhaps in its terminal stages. It’s a big “screw-you” to the little guy, right up to the upper-middle class. The investor class that runs this scam doesn’t have a need or worry about where or how to get care. Sorry to get all political on you, but this issue is something that makes me feel less than warm-and-fuzzy about my role as an American Patriot.
June 18th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
It seems to me that most businesses in this country will compete much better in the gloabl marketplace if they don’t have to worry about the huge burden of health care costs. Somehow, we need to fix the entire system, not just push in one spot causing a bulge in another. Like the above commentor, I too worked in health care. I worked in a area that interacted with insurance companies in trying to determine whether an admission would be “authorized” or a claim would be paid. Money was the driving force. There seemed to be a “deny” first mentality. And those that were good at the appeals process, could often get that initial decision overturned. But many did not even know they could appeal.
The idea that the average Joe, if dealing with his “own” money and not the insurance companies, would make more cost effective decisions is just plain nuts and shows no knowledge of how things work. If there is an emergency, you go the quickest place. If you are scared and sick, you are sure not going to be on the phone trying to comparison shop. And just because a doctor seems nice or a hospital is new and beautiful, doesn’t mean the best care.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:27 am
“Universal Healthcare for All.” Then, everyone will have equal access to the “third leading cause of death, medical treatment” and unintentional medical mistakes. This according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Ohbummer is really off track here. How about universal access to information on wellness, disease prevention, and alternative medicine.
Many former healthcare providers (e.g., nurses and doctors) left the profession they love because they believe that what we have in this country, in our neighborhood hospitals and nursing homes is medical Auschwitz. At 20%, Medicine is one of the largest sectors of GDP (http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml )and it is BIG business preying on the elderly abandoned to our healthcare system.
I say to candidate Ohbummer respectfully, stop dumbing down Americans. We’re not as stupid as you think. Lets get real.
* More statistics on deaths by medical mistakes http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/mistakes/common.htm
June 19th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Privatized healthcare is metaphorically killing both physicians and patients, and I’m not so sure its policies are not at the root of the “medical mistakes” that our obviously partisan friend is referring to above. I work with alot of doctors in my business, and I can tell you that the majority of them are past ready for healthcare reform. Nobody wants more of the same except for the privatized companies themselves, or perhaps those who choose to do their research on “popular” web sites or FOX news.
Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama’s ideas about what our nation needs to do with our broken healthcare system deserve thoughtful research, open discussion, and open minds. Let the for-profit companies stew. As Americans, we need to send out the message to both candidates that preserving our health and that of the next generation should not boil down to a anywone’s balance sheet. Because right now, people literally have to purchase their health, and last I checked, that wasn’t in that list of “family values” we compassionate people have touted for the last few years.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Footnoted regulars may remember that last month, I went to Denmark to visit the family I lived with when I was an exchange student in college. The three-year old son of one of my Danish “sisters” was very seriously sick when I was there with an auto-immune disease and spent much of the week in the hospital. His mom was pregnant with the couple’s second child and was due in two weeks. Not once did she have to worry about how her and her husband were going to pay for that care. There was no bill. Nor did she have to fight with hospital administrators and third-party insurance lackeys to make sure everything that could be done for her son was being done. I’m not a parent, but I can only compare that to another friend of mine here in NY who had a much less serious issue with her 3 year-old son. Six months later, her son is fine, but she’s still fighting with the insurance company over coverage.
Does Denmark pay higher taxes than we do here in the US? Absolutely. But if you stopped to think about the massive waste of time involved in fighting for six months to get something you’ve theoretically already paid for, I bet Denmark comes up cheaper. Not to mention a whole lot less stressful.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I had almost the same experience in India as Michelle did in Denmark. An associate’s wife broke her foot when she exited the aircraft. The Indian doctors (who did a fantastic job) were confused as to why we wanted to give them money for their trouble (they were almost insulted, like we were tipping them). None of us are/were Indian citizens (just Canadians and Americans).