Global Courant
Think of your body as a car with legs, a transport unit for pedestrians. Your legs are your wheels, food is your gas, your skeleton is your chassis, your eyes are your headlights. In short, your body is a high-tech machine.
Every machine needs maintenance. People expect to pay something to keep cars and other high-tech machines running. Drivers pay for gas, for tires, for oil changes. It’s just a fact of life. Why screw things up by involving insurance? Surely it is faster – and cheaper – to exclude insurance.
That’s how it should be with health insurance. You pay for the little things, the doctor visits, routine medications, glasses, etc. – maybe a thousand dollars a year. For big ticket items, your insurance kicks in.
Insurance would be for things beyond your control, for example accidents or serious infections. Or you may want to purchase a “parts and labor” warranty, in case something goes wrong with the engine (heart) or you need a new transmission (hip replacement).
This model is similar to a high-deductible insurance plan, the kind many self-employed people purchase. Below a certain amount, the patient pays all medical expenses. Above the preset limit, the insurance pays. There are high-deductible plans that start at the $1,000 deductible level, with higher tiers also available at even lower premiums. A $5,000 deductible is a cost-effective choice for many self-employed people.
These plans are much cheaper than traditional insurance. The difference in premiums can be stashed away in a health savings account to cover low-cost items. Hopefully, your savings will increase over time, allowing you to choose a plan with a higher deductible (and therefore cheaper).
Doesn’t this make sense? For the first $1,000 to $5,000 (whichever plan you choose), you spend your own money, which gives you a strong incentive to cut back. It’s better to ration your own care than to depend on someone else to do so. If you develop pneumonia or have your gallbladder removed, your insurance will kick in.
Of course you want to stay healthy and stay out of the hospital. That is a strong incentive to take care of yourself. In addition, you retain the highest degree of freedom and still have a safety net in case of an emergency.
The incentive to limit out-of-pocket expenses is lacking in government-sponsored health plans like Medicaid. Somehow we have to find a way where everyone has a share in the costs. Is it fair to ask those who actually work to cut spending, while those who don’t work get unlimited free care?
Everyone has to pay something, otherwise the system becomes unsustainable – it almost is. “Free” health care ultimately increases costs for everyone.
Making a health insurance policy like car insurance doesn’t solve everything, but it’s a step in the right direction.
What if health insurance was car insurance?
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