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That's the definition of insurance. I've paid home owners insurance for 10 years.. Never a claim. Paid car insurance for 25 years.. 1 claim (And that was a windshield)..
Yes, health insurance is more expensive than other insurances.. But.. Health insurance certainly isn't unique in that you don't win until you use it. And, rarely do you 'win' even if you use it.
Exactly.
This is also why nonsense like covering *birth control* on medical insurance, or other items that are routine and minor expenses on insurance, which are better paid for in cash and over the counter, will prove disastrous for the insurance system.
Insurance is for *major financial catastrophe*. Birth Control Pills, per month less than nearly all cell phone bills, are not a major financial catastrophe. Getting Breast Cancer--or hit by a truck--IS a major financial catastrophe.
What would your car insurance cost if oil changes were *required* to be covered by it? And what would the oil changes cost, without price competition and with a 3rd party paying for them? The answer is a hell of a lot more, both times.
We all have automobile insurance for our cars and home owners insurance for our houses.
We don't expect GEICO or whomever to pay for oil changes and tire rotations, yet somehow we expect Cigna or Blue Cross/Blue Shield to pay for routine medical checkups and scheduled maintenance items.
We don't expect our Allstate or State Farm to pay to repaint our house or fertilize the grass, yet somehow we expect Obamacare providers to pay for scheduled body maintenance items.
If we used health insurance to pay for *unscheduled* items, its cost would be lower.
That's the definition of insurance. I've paid home owners insurance for 10 years.. Never a claim. Paid car insurance for 25 years.. 1 claim (And that was a windshield)..
Yes, health insurance is more expensive than other insurances.. But.. Health insurance certainly isn't unique in that you don't win until you use it. And, rarely do you 'win' even if you use it.
It's like the insurance bet in blackjack, a sucker bet that you don't really win even when you call it right. For those of you who don't know if the dealer has a shown Ace, you can make a side bet that the dealer dealt a blackjack to themselves. It is widely considered a sucker bet because at best, you breakeven if you guessed right. If you guessed wrong, it's basically asking for a double down but not betting your bet on the third card. This is why many card players, don't bet when the dealer has the visible Ace.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Since more of ACA has kicked in, my employer sponsored plan's deduction from my paycheck has changed.......by one dollar.......less. I have to pay slightly more in co-pays if I use it though but no complaints here.
The ACA will bankrupt those who have to pay an extraordinary deductible amount every year. I don't care what kind of insurance you have, if you pay monthly premiums on top of a huge deductible, you don't really have insurance at all if it's more than you can afford.
My husband and I work for different employers, both of which historically have paid 100% of employee premiums.
With the last renewal, our employers notified us that the premiums had risen so much that they can no longer pay full premium. We each received fairly significant wage increases about the same time, but our net take home actually decreased due to the insurance premium increase. And our out of pocket/deductibles have increased, so yes, the new ACA has negatively affected us.
Last year we had a standard BCBS 80/20 plan. Our deductible was $500, max out of pocket of $4,500, and we paid $20 office copays. Prescriptions were $10. Premium for 4 people were $190 every two weeks. We paid $4,940 per year in premiums.
This year, were forced to choose between three options pretty much exactly like the Obamacare options. We now have a $4,500 deductible with a $12,500 max out of pocket with no copays. The premium is only $56 every two weeks. So at the end of the year it will cost us $1,456 per year in premiums.
So in theory we saved almost $3,500 a year in premiums right?
The problem lies with actually using the insurance. Before, a set of x-rays or something similar would take care of meeting the deductible. I had to have an emergency sinus surgery earlier this year and we have paid to date over $6,500 out of pocket because of it.
This new plan has cost me an extra $3,000 this year, and it started July 1.
So maybe for those in a dream world who never have to use the plan like it, but for those of us "normal" folk (especially with kids), this is pretty painful to the pocket.
Who forced you to choose between those 3 items? I hope you don't mind me asking.
This is also why nonsense like covering *birth control* on medical insurance, or other items that are routine and minor expenses on insurance, which are better paid for in cash and over the counter, will prove disastrous for the insurance system.
Insurance is for *major financial catastrophe*. Birth Control Pills, per month less than nearly all cell phone bills, are not a major financial catastrophe. Getting Breast Cancer--or hit by a truck--IS a major financial catastrophe.
What would your car insurance cost if oil changes were *required* to be covered by it? And what would the oil changes cost, without price competition and with a 3rd party paying for them? The answer is a hell of a lot more, both times.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SportyandMisty
We all have automobile insurance for our cars and home owners insurance for our houses.
We don't expect GEICO or whomever to pay for oil changes and tire rotations, yet somehow we expect Cigna or Blue Cross/Blue Shield to pay for routine medical checkups and scheduled maintenance items.
We don't expect our Allstate or State Farm to pay to repaint our house or fertilize the grass, yet somehow we expect Obamacare providers to pay for scheduled body maintenance items.
If we used health insurance to pay for *unscheduled* items, its cost would be lower.
There is a difference here. Remember that auto insurance doesn't cover breakdowns. You blow an engine in the car, you're not filing a claim with auto insurance. So, you never change your oil, you blow the engine.. Your insurance company doesn't care. They're not paying for that.
So.. With that out of the way, where that differs with health insurance.. If you have high blood pressure, for example that isn't treated.. That leads to you having a stroke, which costs the insurance companies more.
I won't disagree with you on the birth control part, because that's a pretty long stretch to say "The insurance company will have to pay more to cover the resultant child from the pregnancy" as a reason to pay for birth control.
But.. In you 'oil change' scenario.. If you neglect normal checkups, and let relatively minor things such as diabetes, hypertension, etc run loose.. Then the insurance companies DO pay more out to treat the resultant amputations, strokes, heart attacks, etc. So.. All in all, i'd say what you're giving is not a fair comparison, outside of the birth control angle.
Bottom line.. SOME preventative measures, it does make financial sense for the insurance companies to cover.. Which is why they do it. No company does things that don't provide a benefit to them in some way. Financial or otherwise.
Edit.. I should add here.. Probably a better term to use is 'manageable conditions' vs 'relatively minor', because i'm sure there's some diabetic out there shaking their fists at their computer screen right now.
What kind of company pays a person $60k without healthcare?
In my entire adult life, I have never even applied for a job that didn't have healthcare included in the compensation package.
I get that for minimum wage jobs and freelance type jobs they don't have healthcare, but people in standard office jobs have it and I have seen no change in my healthcare or any of my friends' healthcare since the implementation of Obamacare...but I have seen several people who didn't have healthcare finally get a chance to see a doctor as a result of it.
FWIW I never once cast a vote for Obama in any election and am a registered Republican who votes for Libertarian candidates, and I was not really a supporter or opponent of Obamacare.
Sole Proprietorship, Self Employed and Per Diem employees come to mind...
i have a gold plan , i am paying 5k less a year for my wife and i then i did prior for health insurance and i get zero subsidy and i live in nyc. i like our new plan.
Thats because you live in New York
Every other state is having massive premium increases
THe fact is if you are not in the 5% of sick people your premiums will increase
The main problem with Obamacare is that it will cause prices to increase overall because there are no price controls and no competition.
Its a total disaster like all the government programs that are promoted as "free" benefits. Nothing is free and costs in these schemes skyrocket
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