When I purchase my auto insurance, I purchase a policy with the lowest deductable possible. It costs more, but not that much more. I don't want any unexpected expenses poping up due to a traffic accident, at a time when I might have other unplanned financial burdens.
This is the same way I see health insurance. When I sign on to a policy, I want one with a low deductable. I have to pay more for it, but then it's worth it to me.
I have a set list of bills each month. I plan for those bills. I do the best I can to insulate myself from large unplanned bills. If I have an accident, a health emergency and a few other problems pop up at the same time, it leaves me exposed.
I don't want a $500 auto deductable to pop up when I have a $1k, $5 or $10K health deduction pop up.
I see this as another attempt by business to toss off another large burden on employees. Look folks, I don't know many people who can come up with large deductables on the spur of the moment. If the health insurance game changes across the board, we're going to have many people out there who will have insurance they can't afford to use.
I don't want employees to abuse the system, but then I don't want employers abusing the system either.
Here we have another instance where nobody can figure out why certain costs are going up dramatically, even though it's well known that a very large body of people are getting health services for free.
Grazing affects the costs in super-markets. When folks eat food inside the store and don't pay, what happens to costs for everyone else. Why can't folks see that this same thing happens in hospitals?
The cost of healthcare is going up for two main reasons. Today we have some amazing medications that actually keep folks out of the hospital, alive and living longer. We also have some great advances in options for surgery and recovery that we didn't used to have. Then there's the problem of a large body of people who don't pay.
If we don't want these things, then we can opt out of them. I don't know many people who want to give up advanced medications. I don't know too many people who want to give up the option to have surgery. I know a hell of a lot of people who don't seem to give a damn that a certain massive body of people are sucking healthcare dry, not paying one dime for the care they get.
I do just the opposite.
I have $1000 deductible on all my cars.
In three or four years you will have saved the difference of the higher deductible. So if you have a claim at the end of that time period you break even. Every year you go after that without making a claim there are significant dollars saved. Typically a couple hundred dollars a year per car. Not chump change.
I don't know if you get insurance through your employer or if you pay for it. But answer me this question if you know. What do you think it cost for insurance from Blue Cross (including dental) for a family of four?
I'm the Blue Cross administrator for my company (in Idaho). I have found that most people have no idea...
I'd tend to go with DB's response to your post. Bank the savings (from having a larger deductible) and you'd be fine coming up with a $500/$1K "hit" in the event of an accident.
The author makes a very important point here . . . health care costs in this country are rising simply because most people "buy" medical care as if it's free.