Comments on: Healthcare Agenda

By: Brian Sharp

Brian Sharp — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:03:06 +0000

Hi Josh, thanks for the comments. Item # 2 we share more in common on than you might think based on your comments. I would not garnish wages for that mandate, it would be more like auto insurance where it is simply required. Hillary Clinton wants to garnish wages and Obama does not. That is a major difference in their plans.

I would rather the government stay as far away from me as possible. The problem is that the government is about to get heavily involved in healthcare. I believe if we can preserve the private insurance model of coverage, we can head off a single payer system like Canada.

In the end, we all pay for people that are uninsured via higher premiums. I am looking for universal coverage, not universal healthcare.

By: Josh Bush

Josh Bush — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 12:54:32 +0000

Since I’m feeling particularly feisty this morning, I have one more thing to add. I agree with #1. I wish the health insurance market was more free and open. I should be able to shop around insurance companies with my good health and negotiate a lower rate based upon the fact that I’m healthy. I can do the same thing with auto and home insurance. I can also do this with credit card companies and other lending institutions, so why not health insurance?

Maybe this would encourage insurance companies to require yearly physicals just to check up on their investment. This would have an extra benefit to the consumer to catch chronic illness earlier and improve treatment opportunity. Also, it would be nice to know that my insurance company (and therefore my pool of available providers) wouldn’t have to change if I change jobs. I want to make those decisions for my family.

By: Josh Bush

Josh Bush — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 12:42:59 +0000

I can’t even begin to agree with #2. How in the world could this be enforced? What are the penalties for not having health insurance? Why should the government be making decisions for me? I’m an adult, and I should be the one choosing what is right for my family and our circumstances. The decisions I make regarding healthcare only affect me and my family.

When you buy a house with a loan, the mortgage company adds the taxes and insurance into your payment so that you have that amount in escrow. Will the fed just garnish our wages to make sure we have enough money in escrow to cover our health insurance? What’s considered the minimum coverage?

I think the problem with healthcare is insurance. To me, insurance is there to protect you in the event of a major life event. In other markets, let’s say home owner’s insurance, you are paying to cover your home in the event it gets destroyed. You’re not paying your insurance company to come to the rescue when you have a leaky faucet. This is essentially the system we’ve established for healthcare. All of us will be sick at some point in time and I don’t think it’s the insurance company who should be paying for me when I get a runny nose.

This is why the HDHP + HSA makes so much sense to me. I’m responsible for $5000 and then my insurance picks up the rest. Have I hit the $5K mark yet? Nope. If I do, then something bad is going down and I’m going to need some help. Meanwhile I’ve been saving so that I can cover the $5K regardless of my financial situation at that time. It’s a good balance. If a member of my family gets sick, then it’s my responsibility to cover those costs just like anything else.