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

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

[SeekAndFind]

I have been driving a car since I was 16 years old, which was also when I got my auto insurance under my parents' plan. It was expensive when I first started out, but as I demonstrated good driving behavior -- avoiding accidents and speeding tickets, I was encouraged by cumulative discounts including safe driver, good student, and multiple car deductions.

But when it came to my health insurance, I first started making payments on it with my first job after college. Of course, I took the cheapest plan with the fewest bells and whistles and the highest deductibles, but it provided cost containment in the setting of an emergency. But despite practicing a healthy lifestyle -- watching my diet, exercising, avoiding substance abuse, and maintaining regular physical check ups with my primary care physician, I noticed that I paid the same health insurance premiums as my colleague who consumed large amounts of junk food with a sedentary lifestyle, feeding addictions to cigarettes and alcohol, and non-compliance with his prescribed medications.

So what is the real reason for mounting health care costs in this country? Is it poor management by physicians or a poor health care system? Why are there no incentives to encourage healthy practices and fines to discourage bad behavior? Why do healthy responsible patients pay inflated premiums to cover the consequences of unhealthy lifestyles of their neighbors?

What if my health insurance were like my car insurance? To begin with, I would be required to have health insurance just as any driver is mandated to have auto insurance to drive an automobile. Sure, it's expensive at the age of 16 due to heightened risk of accidents and careless behavior but with maturity comes gradual decline in premiums with demonstration of safe driving and responsibility. In addition, various incentive programs exist for a good driving record and scholastic performance which lower the premiums significantly. Similarly, health insurance would be expensive at the onset, but with healthy lifestyle practices, responsible behavior, and physician endorsement of compliance would come discounts in health insurance premiums.

If health insurance were like car insurance, I would be responsible for obtaining it as opposed to having my employer supply it for me. After all, it's my body and my health-why do I expect someone else to be responsible for it?

If health insurance were like car insurance, I would be able to shop around for the cheapest insurance with competitive rates from multiple vendors to find a plan best suited for my lifestyle. If health insurance were like car insurance, I would not be denied insurance unless I demonstrated repeatedly offensive and ill-advised behavior.

On the other hand, what if my car insurance were like my health insurance? My employer would be required to obtain my car insurance, which means I couldn't drive if I didn't have a job. Everyone would pay the same for auto insurance regardless of driving history. The system would breed lack of accountability since there would be no incentives for good driving behavior and no repercussions for accidents or speeding. Sure it would be economical for the irresponsible driver, but only at an exorbitant cost to the safe driver and society as a whole.

There is an urgent need for major overhaul of the health care system in the United States. While the debated health care reform bill addresses some issues that warrant change, it continues to penalize the delivery of care by cutting reimbursements without providing incentives for healthy lifestyles and quality of care.

[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.