Heard something thought-provoking on NPR today as Libertarians were discussing Obama’s health care speech.
One gal said she didn’t understand the concept of bashing insurance companies for refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. The whole point of insurance, she said, is to purchase it in case something awful happens, not because something awful happened. Anything else, she said, would be the equivalent of asking Geico for coverage after your car takes out a tree.
Thoughts? Discuss.
5 comments
Finnzo says:
Sep 10, 2009
I think that's the main reason we're having trouble with this. Regular health care used to be something one could pay for, and folks bought insurance just in case an arm got broken. Now, though, it's gotten expensive enough that people don't buy health insurance as insurance; they buy it as a service, like a prepaid funeral. The market has changed to the point that insurance is no longer the right word for it and insurance providers are no longer the best equipped to deliver it, but they don't want to lose the business and the government can't afford to have another financial sector on the ropes, so … well, whatever happens, nobody's going to be particularly happy.
jennifermoody says:
Sep 10, 2009
This came in from Dennis Dugan, who had trouble posting:
"My comment (feel free to post it if you want to expend the energy): That's a bad analogy. A car accident is a one-time event. A pre-existing condition is, usually by definition, a recurring/ongoing thing. If I break a leg, then get insurance, I don't expect the company to go back and cover the one-time costs of the cast and hospital visit. I negotiate the terms of my coverage going to forward when I purchase the insurance. For car insurance, I might pay more, having been in an accident, but my car insurance company doesn't get to claim that any time I hit a tree in the future it's not covered. That's just stupid and defeats the point of insurance."
Ineka says:
Sep 11, 2009
Health insurance is all about who pays for our health care. Medical providers have priced health care out of the reach of normal people. We have to have insurance to pay for normal routine care, much less accidents and long term health conditions. We are the richest country in the world. Health care for all citizens should be a no brainer, just as schools for every child is a no brainer.
Should health insurance companies pay for our overpriced medical services?
Should the government?
Should we reign in the cost of health care so that it is affordable?
Other countries have figured this out. Our health care system is broken and putting more tape on it isn't the answer. SOMEBODY needs to fix the system so that normal people can pay for their health.
jennifermoody says:
Sep 11, 2009
That's sort of my take on it, too, that health "insurance" really isn't, anymore. Or if it is supposed to be more like car insurance, then we need to find a different way to pay for health "care," which is no longer affordable any other way. I also would have liked to point out to the gal that you can still buy car insurance even if you don't have regular oil changes or you forget your seat belt from time to time. But I bet she'd be a fan of jacking up car insurance based on how many oil changes you get.
jennifermoody says:
Sep 11, 2009
That's sort of my take on it, too, that health "insurance" really isn't, anymore. Or if it is supposed to be more like car insurance, then we need to find a different way to pay for health "care," which is no longer affordable any other way. I also would have liked to point out to the gal that you can still buy car insurance even if you don't have regular oil changes or you forget your seat belt from time to time. But I bet she'd be a fan of jacking up car insurance based on how many oil changes you forget.