5 ms·

What will prevent healthy people from cancelling their health insurance in 2014?

by eggnet 17y ago

seldo 17y ago
Well, from 2014 it becomes mandatory to have insurance, for one thing. Although I don't see why anybody would want to in the first place.
- Zak 17y ago
  It usually makes sense not to have insurance against any event that your resources can comfortably absorb. If that were not the case, insurance companies would not be profitable.
  - goatforce5 17y ago
    My brother was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer last year, a few hours after taking possession of his first home and being responsible for a mortgage. He had 14 hours of surgery to remove an eye socket and half of the top of his jaw and then rebuild it with titanium and hip bone. 10+ weeks of radiation treatment. They're about to start what is technically cosmetic surgery, to give him new teeth and tighten up the side of his face they've been working on. He's back at work now, but he had about 4 months off work. The cost of the medical treatment? A few thousand for sundry expenses. Australia's Medicare system picked up the tab for virtually all of it. He asked them the face value (hoho!) of the treatments, but no one was really sure how to work it out - it's at least 6 figures. I dread to think what it would have cost in the US... He didn't lose his house or car. The baby that was born during his treatment didn't bankrupt anyone. He still has a job. What a chilling example of a socialist government system interfering in his personal life!
- dmm 17y ago
  What does "insurance" mean? There are innumerable products which fall under that name. Which will I be required to purchase? I'm 24 with no health problems. My yearly health expenditures are near zero. My largest expenses are probably biannual teeth cleanings. I really don't need health care. However if I am hit by a truck I would like to be able to afford someone to set my leg in a cast. So I have true insurance with a high deductible($1500USD/year). This coverage is dirt cheap. Will I have to pay significantly more in 2014? Why should I have to subsidize fat baby-boomers?
  - foldr 17y ago
    What do you plan on doing if you get a serious illness? Could you afford the deductibles for that? The whole point of insurance is that you have to buy it before something bad happens. It's incredibly risky and stupid to gamble on the fact that you're currently young and healthy. >Why should I have to subsidize fat baby-boomers? Who you're subsidizing depends on how you think about it. An alternative is to consider that you're subsidizing your future old, unhealthy self. Once you're old and unhealthy, no-one's going to want to sell you a new insurance plan with better coverage. (Ignoring whatever changes the recent bill might bring about.)
    - anamax 17y ago
      > An alternative is to consider that you're subsidizing your future old, unhealthy self. Do you think that you'll get back the social security that you're paying today? If not, why do you think that health care will be any different?
      - foldr 17y ago
        I'm not talking about social security. If you enroll in a more comprehensive health insurance plan while you are young and healthy, it will pay for expensive treatment when you are older. But by the time you are old and unhealthy, it will probably be too late to upgrade your insurance. By definition, you can't wait until you're at high risk of requiring expensive treatment before you insure for it.
        anamax 17y ago
        > I'm not talking about social security. I am because it's another intergeneration transfer system. > If you enroll in a more comprehensive health insurance plan while you are young and healthy, it will pay for expensive treatment when you are older. Only if said plan sets aside some of the money that you pay now for your future care or there's some source of money in the future for that care. (You're rejecting the third alternative - that you pay your expected costs as you go.) SS supposedly promised the former (loans to govt) but it's actually the latter (those loans have to be repaid by future taxpayers). If you don't expect that future taxpayers will be willing to pay you for what you're paying now in SS taxes, why do you think that they'll be willing to pay for your healthcare? Yes, I know that boomers are getting away with this. Do you think that later generations will?
- eggnet 17y ago
  Let's say insurance is $400/mo. If my insurance application can never be denied, why would I pay $400/mo when I don't need it? I would wait until I was sick or injured, then buy insurance. If you force insurance companies to always provide insurance, then you have to force everyone else to always buy insurance. Or the math won't work.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]

What will prevent healthy people from cancelling their health insurance in 2014?

by eggnet 17y ago

What will prevent healthy people from cancelling their health insurance in 2014?

seldo 17y ago

Well, from 2014 it becomes mandatory to have insurance, for one thing. Although I don't see why anybody would want to in the first place.

Zak 17y ago
It usually makes sense not to have insurance against any event that your resources can comfortably absorb. If that were not the case, insurance companies would not be profitable.
- goatforce5 17y ago
  My brother was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer last year, a few hours after taking possession of his first home and being responsible for a mortgage. He had 14 hours of surgery to remove an eye socket and half of the top of his jaw and then rebuild it with titanium and hip bone. 10+ weeks of radiation treatment. They're about to start what is technically cosmetic surgery, to give him new teeth and tighten up the side of his face they've been working on. He's back at work now, but he had about 4 months off work. The cost of the medical treatment? A few thousand for sundry expenses. Australia's Medicare system picked up the tab for virtually all of it. He asked them the face value (hoho!) of the treatments, but no one was really sure how to work it out - it's at least 6 figures. I dread to think what it would have cost in the US... He didn't lose his house or car. The baby that was born during his treatment didn't bankrupt anyone. He still has a job. What a chilling example of a socialist government system interfering in his personal life!
dmm 17y ago
What does "insurance" mean? There are innumerable products which fall under that name. Which will I be required to purchase? I'm 24 with no health problems. My yearly health expenditures are near zero. My largest expenses are probably biannual teeth cleanings. I really don't need health care. However if I am hit by a truck I would like to be able to afford someone to set my leg in a cast. So I have true insurance with a high deductible($1500USD/year). This coverage is dirt cheap. Will I have to pay significantly more in 2014? Why should I have to subsidize fat baby-boomers?
- foldr 17y ago
  What do you plan on doing if you get a serious illness? Could you afford the deductibles for that? The whole point of insurance is that you have to buy it before something bad happens. It's incredibly risky and stupid to gamble on the fact that you're currently young and healthy. >Why should I have to subsidize fat baby-boomers? Who you're subsidizing depends on how you think about it. An alternative is to consider that you're subsidizing your future old, unhealthy self. Once you're old and unhealthy, no-one's going to want to sell you a new insurance plan with better coverage. (Ignoring whatever changes the recent bill might bring about.)
  - anamax 17y ago
    > An alternative is to consider that you're subsidizing your future old, unhealthy self. Do you think that you'll get back the social security that you're paying today? If not, why do you think that health care will be any different?
    - foldr 17y ago
      I'm not talking about social security. If you enroll in a more comprehensive health insurance plan while you are young and healthy, it will pay for expensive treatment when you are older. But by the time you are old and unhealthy, it will probably be too late to upgrade your insurance. By definition, you can't wait until you're at high risk of requiring expensive treatment before you insure for it.
      - anamax 17y ago
        > I'm not talking about social security. I am because it's another intergeneration transfer system. > If you enroll in a more comprehensive health insurance plan while you are young and healthy, it will pay for expensive treatment when you are older. Only if said plan sets aside some of the money that you pay now for your future care or there's some source of money in the future for that care. (You're rejecting the third alternative - that you pay your expected costs as you go.) SS supposedly promised the former (loans to govt) but it's actually the latter (those loans have to be repaid by future taxpayers). If you don't expect that future taxpayers will be willing to pay you for what you're paying now in SS taxes, why do you think that they'll be willing to pay for your healthcare? Yes, I know that boomers are getting away with this. Do you think that later generations will?
eggnet 17y ago
Let's say insurance is $400/mo. If my insurance application can never be denied, why would I pay $400/mo when I don't need it? I would wait until I was sick or injured, then buy insurance. If you force insurance companies to always provide insurance, then you have to force everyone else to always buy insurance. Or the math won't work.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]