I just suffered the agony of paying some pretty hefty health care bills last month.
Fortunately, I have pretty good insurance, so the bulk was paid by the insurance company.
Interestingly, the amount of insurance premiums paid jointly by me and my employer is MORE than my total medical expenses for the past 12 months.
It occurred to me today that health insurance is really just a savings account - a savings account that loses money. Your statistics rich insurance company knows (on average) how much it is going to cost them to pay your bills. Double it, divide by 12, collect the monthly premium, and you have a business model.
If my employer would just pay me extra money instead of paying my health insurance premium I think we would both be better off. I could get some really cheap "major catastrophe" insurance and pocket the difference. When medical needs arise, I could either pay for or finance the costs - just like financing a car purchase (not that you should ever finance a car... but thats another subject). Having a baby? $150 per month for 36 months. Heart bypass? $450 per month for 60 months. If you don't pay, we repossess your heart (ok.. the system has a kink or two).
Charities and churches should handle the people that "fall through the cracks." I think it was Jesus himself who said something about "true religion" being taking care of widows and orphans.
What if I decide that I do not want to have health insurance AND I do not want to pay for my own medical bills? I have another alternative.
I could go to my nice neighbors and force them at gunpoint to "contribute" to my medical bills. I want them to feel like they are making a voluntary contribution rather than being robbed at gunpoint. Therefore, the choice of weapon is very important. What says "you are making a voluntary contribution" better? A cute little "Saturday night special" or a double barrel sawed off shotgun? Automatic weapons are definitely too bullyish... want to keep it simple. I just don't know... I am still working on this part of the theory.
Maybe a better idea is to appeal to my government. If I could only get congress and a willing McBama** to forcibly extract my neighbor's income under the threat of imprisonment... that would certainly feel more like a voluntary contribution than an armed robbery. Problem solved! None of my neighbors have to look down the barrel of a gun (unless they don't pay -but even then its a government gun and not my gun).
We can vote to take involuntary "contributions" from one American and then give the money that is "collected" to another (more deserving) American. Of course we can't present this idea as one group of Americans stealing from another group of Americans. We have to be a little less truthful than that. We have to make it sound more appealing.
How about "universal health care." That has a nice ring to it.
** President McBama - two candidates- two liberals - just different shades of brown.
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2 comments:
I've never thought of it like that.
Matt has told me what the state pays on our behalf for our "free" Capital Health Plan insurance (part of his employee benefits package) and a friend told me the quotes she was given by CHP to purchase family coverage on her own. Both are absolutely unbelievable. Around $1000. "Free" doesn't seem so appealing when you realize it is lowering your salary by $1000 a month.
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