I dislike belaboring the obvious, but often the ICO leaves
me no choice. In this instance, it’s the “Shared responsibility” editorial
about health insurance, particularly: “The way to pay for it, of course, is for
everyone to participate, including those who are currently in good health.
That’s how insurance works.”
Except that’s not how insurance works.
Alice and I recently purchased our next 15 years of term
life insurance just before our 70th birthdays. Our excellent health
qualified us for the lowest rates for our age group, but we are now paying
three times what we did 15 years ago. If we smoked it would be four to seven
times our current rate. A term life insurance rate depends on your state, age,
gender, height, weight, health classification, and if you are a smoker or when
you stopped smoking. If your state of health is in the lowest of four classes
instead of the highest, your premium increases about 40%. The healthy don’t
subsidize the unhealthy.
Auto and home insurance are similarly discriminatory.
The argument that everyone, insured or not, will place
demands on the taxpayer funded system is specious. The Los Angeles Times
reported (Cash discount for health care, May 28, 2012), that it was much
cheaper to pay for health services in cash than through many health insurers. For
example, a $6,707 CT scan cost an insured person $2,336, but only $1,054 if
paid in cash and not claimed on insurance. A $4,423 CT abdominal scan through
insurance cost $2,400, but the cash price was $250.
One of my friends in Fort Bragg has paid cash for health
care all his life, saving a fortune while never burdening taxpayers. For more
about paying your own way and saving money, see Paying Cash for Healthcare.
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