This Whole Health Care Debacle

The best way to reduce the cost of health care is to put the consumer in the driver seat. First, insurance should be just that – insurance. Do you expect your home insurance to cover having your house cleaned, changing light bulbs, painting, maintenance and minor repairs? Do you expect your car insurance to include limitless trips to the gas pump? Of course not, because that is not what insurance is.
Unfortunately Americans have become accustomed, even entitled, to this concept of health insurance that covers everything with low/no deductible and then they wonder why the premiums are so high! The “all you can eat buffet” of “free” healthcare” sounds good (don’t all “free” things?). But it will only drive up demand, reduce quality and run up costs. People get this when it comes to buying things, but we’ve been so cut off from the practice of direct participation in the consumption of health care (thanks to HMOs and employee sponsored helath plans) that it never occurs to ask what something actually costs.

I personally have benefitted by a low premium ($391.00/month for family of 4)/ high ($2,000.00) annual deductible plan. Even if I use up my annual deductable, I still pay less annually in health insurance premiums than I would have with a “pre-paid” high premium/no deductible plan with identical coverage. How did I disvcover this? I shopped for it.