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Not by itself, not anymore, because of ACA. For most people, the most cost effective insurance is catastrophic major medical + self-pay for anything else. Wha
by efitz 2y ago
Not by itself, not anymore, because of ACA. For most people, the most cost effective insurance is catastrophic major medical + self-pay for anything else. What passes for insurance now really isn’t “insurance” in the sense that completely expected, and even likely, events are covered. It’s more like paying for discount healthcare but has the major medical built in.
- pkulak 2y agoYou can buy it as long as you also have an HSA account, which you should have anyway because it’s pre tax.
- lotsofpulp 2y agoThat is a High Deductible Health Plan, which have out of pocket maximums capped in the $10k per calendar year range. While $10k is a lot to a lot of people, it’s a drop in the bucket for an actual catastrophic healthcare event.
- pkulak 2y agoWhat are you trying to say? Max out of pocket is the max out of your pocket, not the insurance company's.
- gigatree 2y agoStupid question but does that mean the “discount” comes from tax dollars? i.e. medical costs are spread out more but we’re also collectively spending more of our income on it?
- lotsofpulp 2y agoThe discount is from a knowledgeable entity who buys lots of healthcare knowing what they are buying (theoretically preventing fraud) and what competing healthcare providers are selling at, and also negotiating with the collecting purchasing decision of thousands or millions of insureds. Edit: since I can’t respond to comment below due to hitting too fast posting limit: Post ACA and pre ACA plans are completely different products due to out of pocket maximum, age rating factor caps, and inability to screen for pre existing conditions. Hence comparing pre and post ACA health insurance prices is not meaningful.
- gigatree 2y agoWas thinking of the tax credit, but yeah that makes sense (assuming that the post-ACA unsubsidized price of a plan is lower than its pre-ACA price).
- lotsofpulp 2y agoCatastrophic health insurance makes no sense as an insurance product since the probability of catastrophic health event costing hundreds of thousands of dollars is so high as one ages. Heart disease and cancer is a given, and that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat, and premature babies are in the millions. US health insurance is a combination healthcare purchasing agent/second opinion/fraud detection/insurance/tax collector. A large part of a premium is a tax due to the maximum age rating factor that limits the prices old people pay to 3x or less what young people pay. It is also a tax because the insurer cannot underwrite the insureds, except on the basis of age, tobacco use, and location.
- eru 2y ago> Catastrophic health insurance makes no sense as an insurance product since the probability of catastrophic health event costing hundreds of thousands of dollars is so high as one ages. Then no health insurance would make sense? Well, as you suggest, the regulations that cap the premiums for old people at 3x those of young people seem to blame?
- efitz 2y agoInsurance companies sold such plans for decades; the price goes up as you get older (==riskier from the pov of the insurer). Just like life insurance. At some point the consumer makes a decision that the cost of insurance doesn’t justify the benefit.