Socialized med..sure it'll cut costs....

[Peter_Puget]

"In a program intended for employee development, administrative costs exceeded tuition paid by almost two to one," said Max Baucus (Mont.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees the IRS. "As Congress considers the IRS budget for the upcoming year, we must be confident that the IRS is using its money responsibly."

link

[willstrickland]

Here's a similar example:

 

I have a 4 day training in June in Cincinatti. Admin costs (assuming all costs for the training ex-tuition and normal salary) are likley 3-4x tutition costs. Why? Because the training program is govt run, hence tuitions are very low. For perspective, my round trip plane ticket will cost about the same as the tuition. So yes, as a % of tuitiion admin costs are high, but mainly beacuse tuition is low.

 

I really think you're comparing apples to oranges. There are several detailed studies out there addressing the savings potential in admin costs under a single payer system(which is primarily derived from eliminating the "pass the buck" shenanigans of today's insurance providers). Seems like everyone I know has a story about going round n round with an insurance co that didn't want to pay.

 

Let's not make "generous" extrapolation to other realms, eh?

[Peter_Puget]

Not really similar. Tuition is not airfare. Anyway to help you out here is the audit report.

 

link

 

See page 12. Total airfare exp: `$60k. This is more than likely not student airfare but airfare for the admins. since they are called program overhead.

[slothrop]

Studies have shown commercial health insurance in the US to be quite a bit more inefficient than social health programs in the US and in other countries.

 

Here's a biased link for ya:

http://www.amsa.org/hp/myths.cfm

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Studies have shown commercial health insurance in the US to be quite a bit more inefficient than social health programs in the US and in other countries.

 

Here's a biased link for ya:

http://www.amsa.org/hp/myths.cfm

 

While DFA definitely comes down on the side of having a society as wealthy as ours actually support and care for those unable to do so (shocking concept, it's true...it's not laissez faire, but it's Biblically appropriate...what to do, oh, what to do?!), it is interesting to note that in countries offering such care, those who can afford private coverage often take it, given sometimes less-than-adequate service from the state-provided insurance (e.g. ridiculous wait times for non-emergency surgical procedures).

[cj001f]

"In a program intended for employee development, administrative costs exceeded tuition paid by almost two to one," said Max Baucus (Mont.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees the IRS. "As Congress considers the IRS budget for the upcoming year, we must be confident that the IRS is using its money responsibly."

link

We spent less than the total cost of that program between 11pm and midnight in Iraq. That's just as useful a comparison as the IRS and medicine.

[foraker]

aw, c'mon. i'm sure the iraqis are good for it. they'll cut us a check later, i'm sure....

[Cobra_Commander]

They have already been making down-payments with do-nothing gold ribbons and country music songs.

[JoshK]

PP, what in the heck does an article about the IRS' tuition assistance program have to do with "socialized" (as you and your right wing fear-mongers like to call it) medicine??

 

With your incredibly brilliant rationale we might as well do away with the military. After all, I hear there are some seriously steep administrative costs associated with maintaining an effective fighting force.

[foraker]

I wouldn't worry too much about theoretical socialized medicine programs when the current chimp in the White House and the Republican controlled Congress can't keep their greedy hands out of the cookie jar. I think it's pretty ironic that conservatives are always gnashing their collective teeth about tax and spend liberals when their elected representatives have been on a spending spree since 1997.