It ceases being INSURANCE when there is a preexisting ban!
....”It ceases being INSURANCE when there is a preexisting ban!”....
Insurance companies have ‘always’ had this clause since I began Insurance. The idea is to obtain Insurance BEFORE you’re ill.....too many set it aside and then don’t have it when the need comes. Thus an overload of pre-existing patients as we see now.
This is why they put in kids can be on Insurance until 26 yrs. old...by then they should be ‘adult enough’ to obtain their own Insurance....it’s called “responsibility’ for ones own affairs.
You are on the right track with your post - but I would add that “insurance” is NOT what the public or the government have re-labeled it to be.
Insurance is literally a bet AGAINST a loss/cost. You pay premiums into your auto insurer. The carrier is betting that you will NOT have a claim. The higher your risk of having a claim, the higher your premiums would be.
And that auto insurance policy only covers damage from an accident or other claim. It does not pay for your oil changes, tire rotation, new battery, transmission rebuild, new shocks, or any other repairs.
Medical INSURANCE use to be a hedge against major medical costs. It paid little or nothing for routine visits (at least until a deductible was met). I remember years ago paying $45 to go see the family doctor for pretty much anything necessary. Yes, we also paid a little extra if he did a swab or blood test - but you otherwise paid a flat office visit fee. But then “insurance” became more of a “maintenance plan” - where the patient had an ever-smaller amount of personal investment - until the system went nuts - now there are plans that you pay $45 to see a doctor for a routing visit - and the insurance company also pays - just take a look at the next EOB from your carrier - and see what the Dr. actually BILLED for that simple office visit.
Back when folks had some “skin” in the game, they made decisions based on need - do I feel bad enough to justify spending $XX on an office visit? Maybe I should just tough it out for a day or two, take a couple of aspirin, and see what happens (for most simple colds and illnesses, this is actually the better course than going and getting a bunch of antibiotics that may or may not make a difference and actually make the problem worse down the line). Now people go at the first sniffle - and those who utilize Medicaid.... HOLY COW!
I know a BUNCH of folks who, when this state established the first version of expanded Medicaid (specifically for children) long before ObamaCare, folks I knew who qualified would jet to the ER at every upset stomach, every sniffle, every headache... they wouldn’t wait for the next day and a regular doctor visit - and they would demand expensive and extensive tests... and consistently ending up with little more than a head cold or other standard ailment that rectifies over time. But no - use that coverage...
Something is terribly jacked-up when my household (two adults, two daughters) pay a total nearly 2X what our comprehensive pre-Obamacare policy cost out of our pocket - and that doesn’t include what my wife’s employer pays towards HER and our daughter’s coverage - nor does it take into consideration the Obamacare subsidy that goes each month toward MY coverage - making the actual total cost per month for coverage over 3X what a policy we were happy with cost when this debacle started. And keep in mind, we got ZERO help from employer or anyone else towards our private policy back then.
Oh - that’s right - the rest of us have to pay for those who again have no “skin” in the game, and many of which rejected coverage and/or basic medical care and even remotely healthy practices for years and years.
We struggle to pay for MANDATORY health policy - while millions pay little or nothing.
Something has got to give.