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, tires, oil changes. It’s just a fact of life. Why mess things up by involving insurance? It’s probably faster, and cheaper, to leave insurance out of the equation.
So it should be with health insurance. You pay for the little things, trips to the doctor, routine medication, 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, say 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 people 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, with higher levels also 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 contract pneumonia or need your gallbladder removed, your insurance kicks in.
Naturally, you want to stay healthy and stay out of the hospital. That’s a strong incentive to take care of yourself. Plus, you maintain the highest degree of freedom and still have a safety net in case of an emergency.
The incentive to limit one’s own spending is what is missing from government-sponsored health plans like Medicaid. Somehow we have to find a way for everyone to have a share of the cost. Is it fair to ask those who actually work to save when those who don’t work get unlimited care at no cost?
Everyone has to pay something or the system will become unsustainable, it almost is. “Free” health care ultimately increases expenses for everyone.
Getting health insurance like car insurance won’t fix everything, but it’s a step in the right direction.
