6 ms·

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

by 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?
      - foldr 17y ago
        >Only if said plan sets aside some of the money that you pay now for your future care No, that's just false. It will pay for your future treatment as long as the insurance company is legally obliged to foot the bill. It has nothing to do with the total amount you pay in -- the whole point of the insurance business is that a company is not guaranteed to make a profit on each individual customer. If you stopped trying to turn this into a debate over social security, you might be less confused on this point.
        anamax 17y ago
        > >Only if said plan sets aside some of the money that you pay now for your future care > No, that's just false. It will pay for your future treatment as long as the insurance company is legally obliged to foot the bill. You're assuming that the insurance will have money then. I'm pointing out what it takes to make that assumption true. The relevant term is "counter-party risk", aka the "blood from a turnip" problem. > the whole point of the insurance business is that a company is not guaranteed to make a profit on each individual customer. While that's true, it's also true that the total payout plus expenses must be less than the total premiums plus any investment income. Savings and borrowing allows some time-shifting and smoothing but if payouts are too high relative to revenue, the company goes down, regardless of its obligations. You believe that today's young will receive care when they're old that costs more than they'll pay then. Where is the extra money coming from? It can't be the extra money that they're being asked to pay now because that money is being spent now on today's old people. So, it can only be from tomorrow's young people. You don't believe that future generations will pay your SS benefits. Why do you believe that they'll pay for your healthcare?

by dmm 17y ago

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?
    - foldr 17y ago
      >Only if said plan sets aside some of the money that you pay now for your future care No, that's just false. It will pay for your future treatment as long as the insurance company is legally obliged to foot the bill. It has nothing to do with the total amount you pay in -- the whole point of the insurance business is that a company is not guaranteed to make a profit on each individual customer. If you stopped trying to turn this into a debate over social security, you might be less confused on this point.
      - anamax 17y ago
        > >Only if said plan sets aside some of the money that you pay now for your future care > No, that's just false. It will pay for your future treatment as long as the insurance company is legally obliged to foot the bill. You're assuming that the insurance will have money then. I'm pointing out what it takes to make that assumption true. The relevant term is "counter-party risk", aka the "blood from a turnip" problem. > the whole point of the insurance business is that a company is not guaranteed to make a profit on each individual customer. While that's true, it's also true that the total payout plus expenses must be less than the total premiums plus any investment income. Savings and borrowing allows some time-shifting and smoothing but if payouts are too high relative to revenue, the company goes down, regardless of its obligations. You believe that today's young will receive care when they're old that costs more than they'll pay then. Where is the extra money coming from? It can't be the extra money that they're being asked to pay now because that money is being spent now on today's old people. So, it can only be from tomorrow's young people. You don't believe that future generations will pay your SS benefits. Why do you believe that they'll pay for your healthcare?