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A comment on The strength of a monopoly can be guessed at by calling customer support. Parent comment

Re:The strength of a monopoly can be guessed at by calling c... by acdha on Sunday September 16, 2018 @09:05PM (#18002360)
>> Neither the health insurance issue nor the sidewalk was under US government purview. > It is when health insurance is mandatory (enforced by the US govt) and not having it causes you to pay unavoidable penalties which get added to your govt taxes.

How does that follow? The government says you need insurance. It doesn’t say you have to buy from that company or that companies can’t compete on customer service.

If your car insurance company has bad customer service, do you think it’s your state government’s fault, too? My mortgage company requires homeowner’s insurance – is it their fault if I pick a company with bad support?

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Re:The strength of a monopoly can be guessed at by calling c... by michaelmrose on Monday September 17, 2018 @03:28AM (#18003867)
Do you live in the US? People often have exactly one choice of health insurance because the ones that don't come from your employer are far to expensive to afford. Even in a 2 income house one partners may be substantially worse or nonexistent.

The ACA changed this dynamic in areas with competitive markets by providing subsidies that allowed people options. This is going away.

The unsubsidized options would cost almost 1/2 of my pre tax income and my wife has major medical difficulties that preclude her continuing her career and cost significant sums. I have asthma difficulties which without insurance would 4000 just so I can keep breathing.

I would have options if we moved to a cardboard box in order to pay for different insurance.

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Re:The strength of a monopoly can be guessed at by calling c... by acdha on Monday September 17, 2018 @06:56AM (#18004745)
Don’t ask me to defend the American healthcare system in any way. I just don’t see how poor customer service should be blamed on the government rather than the company, or seen as a sign that the current model is incurably broken.
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Re:The strength of a monopoly can be guessed at by calling c... by michaelmrose on Monday September 17, 2018 @02:43PM (#18008751)
The government creates the framework in which everyone operates.
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Re:The strength of a monopoly can be guessed at by calling c... by acdha on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @09:31AM (#18015089)
Again, how does that proposed relationship work? Does the government force those companies to have bad service or is your claim essentially that the government is failing to force them to spend more on customer service?
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