Why Can't My Health Insurance Be Like My Car Insurance?

American Thinker ^ | 02/09/2011 | Jon George, MD

[taxcontrol]

I would remind the author that car insurance does not pay for:

- oil changes
- tires
- gas
- blown engines
- shocks

basically any wear and tear. It only pays when you have a collision. So auto insurance is more like catastrophic medial policy.

If you want to make a fair comparison, try an insurance policy that pays for all of the above with a minor deductible and then see how much that auto policy would be.

[Buckeye McFrog]

oh gawd, if this idea gets any traction I’ll have to put up with Flo from Progressive trying to sell me a health policy every 10 minutes when I have the tube on....

[sodpoodle]

Precisely;)

Health Maintenance Organizations are much like car warranties; which require maintenance and upkeep. These ‘plans’ should have been separate contracts.

1. Catastrophic medical insurance policies for unexpected catastrophic illness & injuries with high deductibles and no limits.

2. Maintenance policies for check ups - IVF, gastric bypass, pregnancy etc., with premiums based on selected and included coverage, i.e. Cafeteria.

[proudpapa]

Nothing like comparing apples and fruitcake...

With auto insurance you are a high risk during your first 10 years.

With health insurance you are a high risk during your LAST 10 years.

[vpintheak]

2 reasons. Government interferences, and health insurance companies.
Greed = Greed

[bbernard]

This doctor has it backwards. When younger drivers get insurance they are a high risk becuase they are inexperienced. As they gain experience the risk lessens. However, with regard to health the risk is lower when you are younger and higher when you get older. The health insurance companies will not be in business long if they didn’t weigh the risks as mentioned above and price accordingly.

We are where we are today thanks to Ted Kennedy’s push for the HMO Act of 1973. This is his legacy. Thanks Teddy...

Curiously, he did a complete 180 in 2001. Checkout the following:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2306363/posts

http://www.forhealthfreedom.org/Publications/Choice/ThenAndNow.html

[kenavi]

and justification for a health insurance requirement is ...????

Reagan era law that requires hospitals to render emergency care to someone even if without means to pay.

[r9etb]

Because your car insurance doesn't have to make payments for recurring costs.

Next....

[Graybeard58]

What you described is a form of liability insurance, only you prove that you are self insured.

[brityank]

Obamacare killed the catastrophic plan.

Health Insurance got destroyed long before obama. It used to be catastrophic coverage - you paid the Doctors office charges and medications yourself, Blue Shield type policies covered you on admittance to a health care facility, and Blue Cross covered your hospital costs. Just like your car, you paid your own way for maintenance and feeding and basic repairs.

I'd love to go back to that!

FYI - we all got screwed by Johnson!

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MEDICARE PROGRAM


1945 President Harry Truman sends a message to Congress asking for legislation establishing a national health insurance plan.

Two decades of debate ensue, with opponents warning of the dangers of "socialized medicine." By the end of Truman's administration, he had backed off from a plan for universal coverage, but administrators in the Social Security system and others had begun to focus on the idea of a program aimed at insuring Social Security beneficiaries.

July 30, 1965 Medicare and its companion program Medicaid, (which insures indigent recipients), are signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson as part of his "Great Society."

Ex-president Truman is the first to enroll in Medicare.

Medicare Part B premium is $3 per month.

SeniorJournal.com

[IamConservative]

I think the high premium costs can be attributed to the astronomical cost to administer the claims handled by the thousands upon thousands of CSRs.

I agree. I think what drives that is that health care costs (bills) are driven by the patients ability to pay. There are no published prices for consumers. They can tell you exactly what a boob job will cost that is not covered by insurance but can't/won't tell you how much a blood panel costs until they know who your insurance provider is.

[brityank]

My health insurance doesn’t ask about smoking.

Your insurance company gets that and a plethora of other info directly from your Medical Records. Do a search on "Medical Information Bureau" for an eye-opener. And yes they are far worse than TransUnion, Equifax, or any other consumer credit outfit for problem resolution.

[MortMan]

The byline says MD. I wouldn’t trust a hangnail to someone this lacking in critical thinking skills.

[Eva]

Most of those laws that restrict the choice of health care insurance plans to home states, are state laws, put into place by liberal legislatures in preparation for a federal single payer plan.

[antiRepublicrat]

Your insurance company gets that and a plethora of other info directly from your Medical Records.

In my case, there was no way they could have done that before I signed up.