Think of your body as a car with legs, a pedestrian transportation unit. Your legs are your wheels, food is your gasoline, your skeleton is your chassis, your eyes are your headlights. Basically, your body is a high-tech machine.
Every machine requires maintenance. People expect to pay something to keep cars and other high-tech machines running. Drivers pay for gasoline, for tires, for oil changes. It’s just a fact of life. Why mess things up when taking out insurance? Surely it’s quicker – and cheaper – to leave insurance out of the equation.
The same should be true of health insurance. You pay for the little things, doctor visits, routine medications, glasses, etc., maybe a thousand dollars a year. For expensive items, your insurance kicks in.
The insurance would be for things out of your control, for example, accidents or serious infections. Or maybe you’d like 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 type many self-employed individuals purchase. Under a specific 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, and there are also higher tiers available with even lower premiums. A $5,000 deductible is a cost-effective option for many self-employed workers.
These plans are much less expensive than traditional insurance. The difference in premiums can be saved in a health savings account to cover low-cost items. Hopefully, over time, your savings will add up, allowing you to choose a plan with a higher deductible (and therefore less expensive).
Doesn’t this make sense? For the first $1,000 to $5,000 (whichever plan you choose), you’re spending your own money, giving you a strong incentive to save. It is better to ration your own care than to depend on someone else to do it for you. If you get pneumonia or need your gallbladder removed, your insurance kicks in.
Naturally, you want to stay healthy and not have to go to the hospital. That’s a strong incentive to take care of yourself. In addition, it maintains the highest degree of freedom and at the same time has a safety net in case of emergency.
The incentive to limit one’s own spending is what is missing from government-sponsored health plans like Medicaid. Somehow we need to find a way for everyone to participate in the expense. Is it fair to ask those who actually work to save when those who don’t work receive unlimited care at no cost?
Everyone has to pay something or the system will become unsustainable (it almost is already). “Free” health care ultimately increases expenses for everyone.
Making health insurance like auto insurance won’t fix everything, but it’s a step in the right direction.
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