Premiums Unveiled For Health Overhaul Plans

[Tiddlywinks]

Originally Posted by Orruar [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Except that covering 3 doctors visits per year is not what I'd call catastrophic. Also, they are required to cover a whole range of things related to maternity and pediatric care that I don't want in a health insurance plan as it only increases premiums with no benefit for me. I'm basically paying for other peoples' kids at that point. Real catastrophic coverage plans were the norm back in the day, but in the past few decades, they have been slowly regulated out of existence. And due to the various tax benefits of receiving insurance through my employer, the insurance closest to catastrophic coverage is not even competitive with my more luxurious plan. I'm paying for it in hidden costs (reduced compensation) that I cannot recoup by switching to one of the Obamacare plans.

The catastropic plans also cap a max out of pocket expenses per year. Meaning that anything truly catastrophic is going to be covered at that point.

I mean, I don't want to pay extra for pregnancy covereage or shit I don't need either. Nobody does, but that's just the way it is. You don't get to pick and choose every little thing you want in your coverage. If you could it would probably be even more expensive. Again, I disagree with the hidden cost factor, because I highly doubt someone like you or I would see much of what our employers are currently paying wind up in our direct compensation if they didn't have to pay it.

[Orruar]

Originally Posted by Tiddlywinks [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The catastropic plans also cap a max out of pocket expenses per year. Meaning that anything truly catastrophic is going to be covered at that point.

I mean, I don't want to pay extra for pregnancy covereage or shit I don't need either. Nobody does, but that's just the way it is. You don't get to pick and choose every little thing you want in your coverage. If you could it would probably be even more expensive. Again, I disagree with the hidden cost factor, because I highly doubt someone like you or I would see much of what our employers are currently paying wind up in our direct compensation if they didn't have to pay it.

Well, of course all insurance is going to cover catastrophes. That's the original point of insurance. And that's ALL I want covered. I don't want my regular checkups covered, because by definition insurance is for unexpected events.

"that's just the way it is"

lol... That's exactly my point. It's not that way because of some underlying economic reason. It's that way because the government mandates it, and has for quite a while. We force people who are in groups that use the health system less to subsidize those who use it more. Clearly it's wrong on moral grounds, but it's also fucked up on utilitarian grounds. I mean, we're basically encouraging people to be unhealthy.

And if you think we wouldn't get all or most of the hidden costs that our employers pay in the form of compensation, you're wrong. Economists from pretty much every diverse school of thought would agree on this. I bet you also think the minimum wage is the only reason we're not all being paid 5 cents an hour?