4 ms·

Nonsense. I'm happy to pay my actual health care costs (nevermind doctors don't know how much they'll charge me). I want health insurance for the crazy once in

Nonsense. I'm happy to pay my actual health care costs (nevermind doctors don't know how much they'll charge me). I want health insurance for the crazy once in a lifetime bankrupting event. I want insurance, where if I end up in a random ER through no fault of my own I don't have to pay a $100k+ bill. Meanwhile, let me have a large deductible so I can 'self insure' as much as possible, and save money on monthly premiums.

pcurve 9y ago
what you're referring to is catastrophic coverage, and yes, it's the absolutely minimum one needs. The problem is that people are now accepting this type of coverage as new normal and also paying arm and leg for it.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  The reason the minimum ACA plans cost so much is that they don't have coverage limits. Much of the cost reflects how expensive medical events can be.
EADGBE 9y ago
Precisely, it's insuring. That's why it's insurance. It's a damn shame they made an extremely profitable business out of it.
marssaxman 9y ago
I thought that this was a reasonable way to think about health insurance until the time I ended up in a random ER "through no fault of my own", and after spending several months watching bills roll in and learning just how skillful an insurance company can be at accomplishing their primary job, which is to avoid paying for health care, found that the impact of an enormous unexpected expense you cannot possibly afford is not substantially lessened by the knowledge that it could have been worse. There is a corollary to the law of diminishing marginal utility here. If having health insurance actually meant I didn't have to worry about the impact of future unexpected disasters, then the incredible monthly cost might seem worthwhile; but all it's going to do is push the threshold of disaster upward, so I'd rather manage risk by maximizing flexibility and keep the cash in my pocket instead.

pcurve 9y ago

what you're referring to is catastrophic coverage, and yes, it's the absolutely minimum one needs. The problem is that people are now accepting this type of coverage as new normal and also paying arm and leg for it.

maxerickson 9y ago
The reason the minimum ACA plans cost so much is that they don't have coverage limits. Much of the cost reflects how expensive medical events can be.

EADGBE 9y ago

Precisely, it's insuring. That's why it's insurance. It's a damn shame they made an extremely profitable business out of it.

marssaxman 9y ago

I thought that this was a reasonable way to think about health insurance until the time I ended up in a random ER "through no fault of my own", and after spending several months watching bills roll in and learning just how skillful an insurance company can be at accomplishing their primary job, which is to avoid paying for health care, found that the impact of an enormous unexpected expense you cannot possibly afford is not substantially lessened by the knowledge that it could have been worse. There is a corollary to the law of diminishing marginal utility here. If having health insurance actually meant I didn't have to worry about the impact of future unexpected disasters, then the incredible monthly cost might seem worthwhile; but all it's going to do is push the threshold of disaster upward, so I'd rather manage risk by maximizing flexibility and keep the cash in my pocket instead.