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Originally Posted by dirtfarmer
... I would like to be able to purchase a cheaper policy that covers only the "very large, unexpected health problems", with a very high deductible. I would write a check for all routine checkups.
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Originally Posted by drcampbell
So who's preventing you from doing just that? Oh, right: For-profit insurance corporations.
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I stumbled upon part of the answer to "who's preventing me from purchasing a catastrophic-only policy": The answer is often ... the government.
Since 1979, the number of mandate laws which require insurance companies to cover certain treatments has ballooned from 252 to over 1,900. Special interest groups lobby lawmakers who then pass bills which require that these treatments be covered. The mandated treatments include such "necessities" as: acupuncture, alcoholism treatment, athletic trainers, breast reduction, dieticians, drug abuse treatment, hair prosthesis, home health care, hormone replacement therapy, in vitro fertilization, marriage therapy, massage therapy, nature treatments, pastoral counseling, smoking cessation, speech therapy and varicose vein removal.
When insurance companies are forced to cover things like this, they raise the price of their policies. Also, with these things covered, people are more likely to seek these treatments when they would not if paying out of pocket, which drives up medical demand, and therefore price.
These higher premiums are certainly responsible for pushing many out of the market for health insurance.
Once again, government action takes away my freedom to chose a policy that fits my needs and ability to pay.
In a free market, if I wanted to purchase a catastrophic-only health insurance policy, I could surely find a company that would be interested in selling me one. We would agree on the terms which satisfy the both of us and both feel that we came out ahead in the deal. But unfortunately, it is often the case that government will not allow us to enter into such a contract.
full disclosure: the mandates, as often as not, come from state governments. Still not good, but as I've said before, moving to a new state to escape excessive government is a reasonable option. Moving out of country, less so.
