Doctors And Hospitals That Counted On Fat Payouts From UAW Policies Worry Over Pooled Benefits

The United Auto Workers union and the Detroit automakers are discussing forming a giant purchasing group that would bring all their workers and retirees under the same umbrella when buying health care, promising to put downward pressure on the profits of the doctors and hospitals who serve them.

Already, medical care providers are bracing for unprecedented consolidation among the insurance companies who pay them with the proposed acquisition by Aetna AET -1.77% of Humana HUM -0.50% and the merger of Anthem WLP +% and Cigna CI -1.44%. Health plan consolidation is poised to reduce the number of publicly-traded insurance giants from five to three by late next year.

Read Article

MDarringer - 9/5/2015 9:25:33 AM

+2 Boost

Here comes another insurance swindle like OsamaCare. The way to control insurance costs is to regulate the cost of doctors, services, drugs, and medical supplied. In addition, malpractice lawsuits have to be curtailed with an iron fist and damages limited ONLY to out-of-pocket expense. If someone dies and the next of kin sues, the damages should only cover funeral expenses.

TomM - 9/7/2015 1:18:31 PM

0 Boost

Osama Bin Laden's solution to health care for Americans was to KILL them. IT was a religious law of Islam- to kill people who are not of their belief. The ability to obey laws of their religion - over state laws - is what CONSERVATIVES like Huckabee espouse. So of course - they would accept this to be Okay with them.!!!

It is interesting that conservatives who otherwise espouse restricting government - do so EXCEPT when it hits their pockets and it does not control them - ie REGULATE all health Care Providers. However - the Lawyers would never stand to be regulated that way. IF a young Father dies - leaving a wife and small children - funeral expenses will not feed the kids or send them to school. The fact is - we should have a system of Universal Health care for all - and that is how you would contain prices = they would be set and bethe same for all. IF the Affordable Healthcare Act has a flaw - it is that it did not go far enough - not that it was an insurance swindle. THE BIG swindle was the Prescription Drug Plans of Bush - where the price of the drugs is set by the maker and cannot be negotiated.