For thrifty consumers, there’s a lot to like in high-deductible health insurance. The plans offer low monthly premiums and those fees fully cover preventive care, including annual physicals, vaccinations, mammograms and colonoscopies, with no co-payments.
The downside is that plan participants must pay the insurers’ negotiated rate for sick visits, medicines, surgeries and other treatments up to a minimum deductible of $1,500 for individuals and $3,000 for families. Sometimes deductibles are much higher.
Let’s keep it civil.
It’s like they all think that the manner in which we overpay for healthcare is also our primary concern as consumers.
“Would you like to pay more upfront for what you actually need, or pay more monthly for what you don’t need?” It’s an illusion of choice that gets you whether you’re coming or going.
That’s the most infuriating part. You pay for it no matter what. You’re gambling that you won’t get sick and you can keep yourself healthy. But the thing this always ignores is the human body ALWAYS breaks down over time. We all need healthcare at some point, whether it’s for a surprise tumor, a pregnancy, or just getting old. You can do everything right and at some point you will still need to engage the system, either for yourself or for a loved one. You’re still going to pay for it.
But heaven forbid you pay for it out of your (shudder) taxes.
Let’s keep it civil
Oh, in that case I don’t have a comment on the American healthcare system.
Wow, the number of comments that are just “oh, yeah, these are great, I have one” is… Wow…
No wonder you guys are fucked. Too many of y’all are spending your time supporting shit like this when you could be screaming about single payer, like the rest of the developed world has.
Are you equating ‘single payer’ with universal health care, which most of the world has, or true single payer in the sense that private insurance is effectively outlawed? The latter isn’t quite as ubiquitous, as you know, and is politically a heavier lift in the U.S. compared to the starting point of simply guaranteeing universal basic coverage through something like medicare (state insurance) expansion.
The latter approach, incidentally, has majority support here, if polls are to be believed. I share your astonishment that we have somehow been unable to successfully agitate for it. We could realistically get to where Germany or France are, but somehow … can’t.
