My health insurance plan was cancelled again recently, in
what has become an annual event and an imposition of an extra burden in having
to reapply because of the federalization of health insurance, known as
“Obamacare.”
My health
insurance premiums will increase over $200 per month. In less than two and a half years, they have
increased by more than four and a half times, while the deductible has also
increased significantly! And, unlike in
my current plan, now there will be co-pays for doctor’s visits (of at least
$100.00). As before, the additional
coverage I receive in return is for things I cannot possibly ever use, such as
maternity care. Coverage for treatments
I cannot ever use, which has become one of the distinguishing features of
Obamacare, is different from coverage for things I hope I never need, but for
which I purchase the peace of mind knowing I will not have to pay fully for
them.
The health insurance plan also
includes free preventative care (e.g. routine age-related examinations), such
as checkups, which I would have been able to afford better without having the
burden of higher premiums. It appears
that the value of the preventative care is outweighed by the increased in
premiums. I understand in practice I
would have to pay for a checkup if it included any additional care or
preventative care if any treatment results from it. Therefore, there is a financial disincentive
to visit the doctor, even for a “free” checkup.
If no treatment does result, then the checkup or preventative care would
be a waste of time and resources while exposing me to sick patients at the
doctor’s office or other health center, thereby minimizing the value of one of
the principles of Obamacare of treating healthy people.
One positive was that the choice of
health insurance plans was easy because there was only one comparable coverage
plan by one provider to choose from in my area.
In other words, there is no competition.
With no underwriting any more in health insurance, insurance agents
cannot help clients even where there is still some competition.
Since my last post on the
federalization of health insurance, there were some political victories over Obamacare. One was the defunding by Congress of a program
to reimburse health insurance providers for losses stemming from the
federalization of health insurance, which will eventually make the program
unsustainable. The other was another
court victory against the Obama Administration’s mandate for coverage for
abortifacients and artificial birth control.
There is anticipation that the new
Congress, again led by Republicans, although with a slightly smaller majority,
will be able to repeal Obamacare gradually without liberal Democratic United
States President Barack Obama or a successor from his party to veto it. However, Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump, who generally favors big government and has expressed support
even for the individual mandate that is the core of Obamacare, wants to retain
the popular parts of the program. I hope
the federalization of health insurance is repealed and not replaced with any
federal plan, as health insurance is generally not a federal matter. Even keeping the popular parts would be wrong
for various reasons.
The health insurance reform the
federal government should make is addressing the inequality in terms of tax
liability between employer-provided and privately-acquired health
insurance. Either those who receive
health insurance from their employers should pay income taxes on this
compensation or those who do not should get a corresponding federal income tax
break. Health insurance should only be a
state-regulated private option. Those
who do not have coverage should be treated and billed, but everyone should at
least have affordable catastrophic coverage.
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