Insurance Creep
I have a high deductible health plan, which makes a ton of sense to me. For reasons I don't understand, by increasing my deductible from $100 to $2500 I save over $3,000 a year in premiums. So even if I max my deductible every year, which I don't, I still don't pay as much in a year as my old BC/BS gold-plated policy. And as an extra, added benefit, we have actually started price-shopping health care services, and that has been a real eye-opener as well. Bottom line - one can get things like tests and X-rays a lot cheaper if one has the incentive to shop around.
So I worry about exactly this with the new federal health care bill:
Wendy Williams and her husband liked their health insurance plan. The premium and annual deductibles made sense for them, and a more "gold-plated" plan was not worth the money. Yet Massachusetts' health care regulators disagreed, and forced the Williams to pay a $1,000 fine if they wished to keep their insurance plan "” a plan they prefer to a comparable state-approved alternative....
If the federal government adopts an individual mandate, Ms. Williams fears her experience could soon replay itself nationwide. She's right to fear. Once there is an individual mandate, interest groups will flock to Washington seeking to have their preferred treatment or service incorporated into the requirements for acceptable health care plans. Over time, the requirements will grow, and the cost of health care plans for many Americans will increase as a result. Consequently, many individuals who have health care plans that fully meet their needs will suddenly find themselves "underinsured" "” and taxed fined as a result.
