You will forgive me if I don't weep too long. There is only so much profiting from human misery and looking to skate the bill that we can really afford...

Health insurance companies being forced, by law, to insure payment for health care?

That's crazy talk!

If this is actually true: GOOD.

And nothing of value was lost.

So what? I took a sh*t and flushed the toilet, but that doesn't make the news.

I just wanna go around poking people with sticks, you know, to see if they're "well".

I could make a fortune billing that to the government. Plenty of "grants".

In an environment where jobs are hard to find, the Obama administration has thrown more than 100,000 health insurance agents and brokers under the bus and given them the gift of an unemployment line just before the holidays.



and yet nobody is going to care....

Too bad they didn't throw them under an actual bus.
farking leeches

[i'mokwiththis.jpg]

Up on the chopping block next: People employed as Telephone Handset Sanitizers.

markie_farkie: Up on the chopping block next: People employed as Telephone Handset Sanitizers.

Not before Pyramid Scheme Companies are put up against the wall first.

Maybe they should find honest work.

FTFA: Starting January 1, 2011, PPACA required health insurance companies to provide an annual rebate to the insured if MLR was less than 80% in the individual and small group markets and 85% in the large group market. The point of the law is to reduce selling, general and administrative expenses of the insurance companies.

And this is a good thing. The recent expense growth and the model behind it was patently unsustainable for the entire U.S. economy. Structural measures had to be imposed so it didn't squeeze out other economic sectors. Tort reform is 'supposed' to take away excessive growth and profit in malpractice law but I don't see anyone upset about that too.

Maybe an oil pipeline would make them feel better

Good.

Tomorrow on "Panicking-Right-Wing Obama-Blaming": Buggy-whip salesmen unemployment at nearly 100%, are our nation's powder horn manufacturers next?

I don't recall a line in HCR that says '100,000 who work at health insurance agencies must be fired shortly before Christmas 2011.' I'm quite sure they were forced to fire them. Given health care profits, I suspect these companies could keep everyone on board and still meet their 80% requirement and still make a profit. Heaven forbid a health care company actually provide a service.

How many health insurance company upper level executives are out of a job over this?

Yep, still don't give a shiat.

do you KNOW what would happen if we had a flat tax with a fixed deduction???
nothing
nothing at all

oh wait, a bunch of blood sucking, tax accountants would be out of work.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
they might have to get jobs that benefit society???


bhahahahahahahahahahaha

ok, here's another one
do you know what would happen if you legalized all drugs?
nothing

nothing except a bunch of donut eating, society destroying cops would be out of work

bwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

GAT_00: I don't recall a line in HCR that says '100,000 who work at health insurance agencies must be fired shortly before Christmas 2011.' I'm quite sure they were forced to fire them. Given health care profits, I suspect these companies could keep everyone on board and still meet their 80% requirement and still make a profit. Heaven forbid a health care company actually provide a service.

bwhahaahhaahahah
did they fire them so that they didnt have to pay the employees their bonuses?
bwhahahahahahahahaha

FARK
what day is it?
how many more days until I make my bonus???
18?
maybe time to take that vacation so that they cant fire me

namatad: did they fire them so that they didnt have to pay the employees their bonuses?

I'm guessing they fired them to get their total costs down, which raises their net percent of spending that goes to providing services without actually increasing the service they provide.

WhyteRaven74: GAT_00: still meet their 80% requirement

And you have to wonder why they weren't already at that level beforehand.

Particularly when that massively inefficient government behemoth known as Medicare puts more than 95% of their spending towards providing care.

I thought the individual mandate would mean more customers, and therefore more agents, etc. Interesting.

Wait....wait...wait...

Obama took 100,000 INSURANCE SALESMEN OFF THE STREET?!

and this is bad?

With the possible exception of divorce lawyers (or lawyers in general for that matter) I can think of no more deserving . . . . . . . . . . .

doyner: I thought the individual mandate would mean more customers, and therefore more agents, etc. Interesting.

Agents did recruiting. If you're mandated to join, they're unnecessary. All you need is a simple clerk to process your application.

What I'm looking forward to (if it'll ever happen) is every single drug rep out on the street with their tanned faces in frowns. Only one thing should sell a drug: evidence.

My father was a Conservative. He died during the Kerry/George W. campaign season.
But he wasn't hardcore, when he was unemployed, voted against George H Bush for not realizing their was an economic downturn.

I wonder what he would have made of all this, being an Insurance salesman. He mostly sold corporate plans, very few personal medical. Still, really curious what he would have made of all this.

hillbillypharmacist: doyner: I thought the individual mandate would mean more customers, and therefore more agents, etc. Interesting.

Agents did recruiting. If you're mandated to join, they're unnecessary. All you need is a simple clerk to process your application.

What I'm looking forward to (if it'll ever happen) is every single drug rep out on the street with their tanned faces in frowns. Only one thing should sell a drug: evidence.

It's fishy. The mandate is that everyone participates in "the market," not that everyone goes to any given profiteer company.

So THAT is why my health insurance rates are dropping next year while I keep the same level of coverage!

Where the f*ck did you think the savings were coming from? Magic?

If the health care insurance cost control thing were done right, several hundred thousand people will have to find new jobs.

Because we did this half-assed, as we do most things in this country, we'll lose hundreds of thousands of jobs and only see coverage increased and probably not see a reduction in cost. We might, but it won't be nearly as much if we were to gut all of the multiple sales, legal and executive duplication across medical billing and overhead spending.

Sure, it hurts the people directly affected, but the overall savings to the country and individual consumer would unlock tens of billions in consumer spending that would create jobs for the newly unemployed.

Single-payer and focus on preventative care is what we should be focused on to provide top notch coverage for everyone and real cost savings for everyone. Maybe next Christmas.

RTFA people. Its a complete pile of derp.

Nobody, nobody, nobody lost a job. The "article" is just come stupid theory by some guy. There is zero evidence of any job losses. Not even anecdotal. None.

The only quote he even provides is from an organization that claims to represent 100,000 people who work in this field. And that organization doesn't even claim anybody lost their job, only that their commissions are lower.

So he takes the number of people the organization represents, and makes up a bullshiat headline that all of them lost their jobs.

Seriously, how does something this stupid get greenlit? How does it get on yahoo news - well, okay, that one's easy to answer, its yahoo.

This is actually the lamest thing I've ever seen linked to on fark. By far.

MisterRonbo: How does it get on yahoo news - well, okay, that one's easy to answer, its yahoo.

It's originally from Forbes, mouthpiece of the corporations. Not shocking at all. It's like my mama always told me, "Consider the source, Forrest."

hillbillypharmacist: What I'm looking forward to (if it'll ever happen) is every single drug rep out on the street with their tanned faces in frowns. Only one thing should sell a drug: evidence.

Amen and praise the lord!

MorrisBird: It's originally from Forbes, mouthpiece of the corporations. Not shocking at all. It's like my mama always told me, "Consider the source, Forrest."

Did she also tell you to run? (had to)

Flooding the already over flowing jobless ranks in an economic down turn really isn't something to hail as a victory.

Alphax: But who will miss a bunch of insurance salespeople?

You know, you're right, why should a company pay them a salary that they earn when the Government can afford to pay them half their salary via unemployment benefits?