Free Republic

There is a near ubiquitous misunderstanding of the function of a deductible in insurance, and it is crippling our national debate on health care. A lot of people in positions of power don’t even know what insurance actually is in the first place, and the fear of the big deductible is a major element of this general confusion. Do not fear the big D. Embrace it. Now why do I advocate for large deductibles? Easy, and it’s not because I’m some fat cat insurance CEO -- because I’m not. For years, I have criticized the abuse of large deductibles in...

The Department of Health and Human Services insists that the Affordable Care Act not only expanded health insurance to many more Americans, but it also "made everyone's insurance better." But some Republicans are asking, what good is the health insurance if sky-high deductibles mean you never get to use it? The Democrats' Affordable Care Act is a mandate -- "not to get care, but to get coverage," Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said on Tuesday. "And many people are finding the coverage is not at all of value to them because they can't get care. Either...their doctors don't take Obamacare or...

Back in October, I posted about the story that people were avoiding needed medical care because the Obamacare plans involved high deductibles or co-pays. Under Obamacare as it exists now, Americans are basically paying insurance premiums and not getting anything in return. If they avoid the doctor to avoid paying their deductible then they will probably never reach the point that the insurance company has to start helping them with expenses.

A local news station brings viewers inside one Pennsylvania company as the employees their learn about their new health care plans under Obamacare: "Look at the numbers," says the reporter of two employees. "Jeff and Dave used to have a $1,250 deductible. Since Obamacare went into effect, it's now jumped 60 percent to $2,000. That's nothing compared to Brian, Kristi, and Judy who have kids. They are going to pay twice that, four grand." The reporter adds that co-pays are being increased, too.

Maybe health care would be cheaper if the customer actually paid for it. "Starting this year, millions of Americans will be able to save money tax-free for their medical expenses, in a health savings account," declared President George Bush in his State of the Union speech. He clearly knows that health care will be the top domestic issue in the 2004 presidential campaign. Why? Because health spending in the United States soared by 9.3 percent in 2002, the largest increase in 11 years, according to a report from U.S. Health and Human Services officials in the journal Health Affairs. (The...