Do you have health insurance? It’s a valid question these days. And, if you do have health insurance, does it cover your expenses? Chances are, if you are gainfully employed in the middle to upper income brackets, the answer to the first is maybe, and the answer to the second is a resounding no.
I do not have health insurance. For two middle aged adults with no current serious health issues, the premiums 3 years ago for the Bronze(ie crappy) plan was over $20,000 a year with a $7,500 deductible each. I passed. I have paid a fine every year. So far, it has been a good decision because I have not gotten sick. My husband went to the hospital a couple of months back–uninsured, for chest pain. It turned out to be nothing, but the bill was still around $3,000 all told. It would not have met the deductible, so we paid out of pocket. They gave us a discount because we did not have insurance and could make a down payment…..yes, a down payment on chest pains, you heard that right. Luckily, we are frugal, and although not rich by USA standards, we do keep emergency cash around. So, even with last year’s fine of $2,600, I didn’t pay out what I would have for the deductible of 3 years ago.
After checking prices 3 years ago, I didn’t check again. Why should I? Things have only gotten worse. By now, after increasing my income by a modest amount, I have little doubt that I would have been charged even more, with an even higher deductible…..I will not do it. Perhaps, it will ruin me. It certainly could. If I get cancer or have a bad accident, I will be wiped out. I will have worked for 40+ years for nothing. I have to take the chance though, because I refuse to pay what surely is now $30,000 a year in premiums.
So, meanwhile, there are people in this country who have never worked, or at least never paid taxes and they can get subsidies to reduce their premiums to something they can afford. Those people are dwindling as well. Insurance companies are learning that the ACA is a lose-lose. They are leaving. They are jacking up rates. They cannot offer different levels of coverage like they used to. They can only offer the all inclusive plan the government requires…..whether we need it or not. Very soon there will be places in this country where nobody can afford health insurance. And then what?
What is this. Let’s just pay the doctors and the hospitals. Let’s go back to a day before the ridiculous idea of insurance. It was never meant to help us. It’s not in the best interest of the insurance company to pay for everything. It’s in their best interest to pay for less than we pay in premiums. It’s a business. Businesses must make money. Everything has to pay for itself. It’s ok to make money. I don’t fault them. It worked for a while, but not if you really got sick, then the companies got stingy. Go figure. We all had a false sense of security with our low premiums until we got sick. Now, nobody has any sense of security except for welfare recipients and illegal aliens….go figure. Even Medicare recipients have to pay premiums….wait, what? Don’t we have money deducted from our paychecks every week to pay for our health care when we are old…go figure.
We used to hear about tort reform. Not so much anymore….those lobbyists did their job. You can sue any drug company or hospital for anything you want and probably win a settlement. This is why aspirin in a hospital costs $100 a tablet. It’s not because doctors and nurses are overpaid. It’s not because hospitals are overstaffed, just the opposite. It’s not because of the gourmet meals they serve. Go figure. When Duey Suem and Howe blow into town and win a $50 million dollar settlement for a supposed ‘bad drug,’ who do you think pays for that? The drug companies? Bwahaha..they just raise the prices. The malpractice insurance companies? They just raise the premiums. No, the person who pays for these money hungry lawyers is the consumer. Many of these class action lawsuits have thousands of people involved. The lawyer has you sign a paper consenting to be a party to the lawsuit. Say they have 50,000 people who all agree and the total settlement awarded is 25 million dollars. Sounds like a lot right? To the law firm it is….say 50%. 12.5 million to them. To the 50,000 people, $250 each. You read that right. So, who was really helped???? Certainly not the people who are part of the class action. Class action lawsuits aren’t like the movie Erin Brockovich.
Americans need to realize when they sit on these juries and award these big judgments, they are helping the law firms mostly. Maybe, every now and then and individual gets a big settlement. Then the company declares bankruptcy and nobody gets anything…..go figure.
So, lets just pay the doctors and hospitals. You are allowed to do that. Call them up. Tell them you don’t have insurance but you do have money. Save that premium money. Not in some ridiculous government controlled HSA…which limits what you can spend it on. Save it in a jar or a box or a savings account you control. Understand that it may be a disaster. There is always that possibility. Nothing in life is guaranteed, not even good health. Most of us will be fine. And you will feel much better not worrying about if your insurance company will pay for things. You sure as hell won’t be able to come out of pocket for your healthcare if you pay the premiums, you will be broke. The best way to fix this broken system is to kill it. Euthanize the whole screwed up system and have a novel idea…..lets just pay for what we use. How ’bout that? What a novel idea. Go figure.