Unlock More Health Insurance Choices
TL/DR –
The article suggests that the U.S. healthcare system should adopt a different approach to insurance coverage, arguing that health insurance should function more like other forms of insurance, covering only significant health crises instead of routine care. The author argues that mandated coverage, required by the Affordable Care Act and various state laws, unnecessarily increase the cost of health care. The piece advocates for the allowance of interstate purchase of health insurance to increase patient choice and competitiveness in the market, and the use of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for routine healthcare expenses.
Understanding Health Insurance: A Comparison with Other Insurance Types
In comparison to other insurance types, Americans interpret health insurance uniquely. When they claim to have excellent health insurance, they usually mean their policy covers a wide range of medical issues, including eye care, dental services, preventive care, and regular check-ups. Contrarily, other insurance types, like homeowners insurance, cover major problems with routine matters paid for out-of-pocket.
Health Insurance Mandates in the United States
The discrepancy between health insurance and other insurances is further compounded by state and federal mandates requiring policies to cover specific medical problems. For instance, the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, imposes ten specific mandates. Each state also has its mandates, which often overlap with federal ones. A few years ago, Wyoming had 32 health benefit and provider mandates, Montana had 31, and Idaho had only 10.
Reimagining Health Coverage
Instead of the currently prevalent government-mandated “insurance” and entitlement programs that strive to cover every possible health-related activity, health coverage should function like other indemnity insurance types, such as car, homeowners, and life insurance. State and federal governments should abandon the notion that health insurance should cover every health-related event. True indemnity insurance should be reserved for catastrophes and emergencies, with routine health services paid for out-of-pocket.
The Downside of Health Care Mandates
Each health care mandate increases the overall cost of health insurance. Not everyone needs all of the required mandates. For example, a healthy, unmarried thirty-year-old man does not need obstetrical coverage, yet he is paying for it in his health insurance plan. Similarly, women do not require screening for prostate cancer. Mandates are typically an outcome of lobbying by influential interest groups pressuring elected officials to include their services in every insurance policy. This restricts competition, drives up prices, and significantly limits choices for patients.
Embracing Health Savings Accounts
In contrast to the common system, health savings accounts (HSAs) allow people to save for day-to-day health care expenses. HSAs require a person or family to purchase a high-deductible catastrophic policy to cover high-dollar medical bills, but they allow a tax-advantaged savings account for routine medical-related purchases. Savings can accumulate over time, and the balance in a person’s personal account can be carried from one job to another.
Interstate Purchase of Health Insurance
Allowing the interstate purchase of health insurance would be a reasonable first step to reform. This would give patients a vast range of choices and make the market more competitive. State-mandated health coverage would still be available, but consumers would have the freedom to decide whether to purchase it.
Lowering Health Care Costs
Americans across the political spectrum agree that the primary issue with health care in the United States is the escalating cost. Reducing or eliminating government health insurance mandates would be a major step towards lowering these costs.
Mountain States Policy Center
You can learn more about health care mandates and their implications from Dr. Roger Stark, a visiting fellow with the Mountain States Policy Center. Dr. Stark, a retired surgeon, has authored three books, including “Healthcare Policy Simplified: Understanding a Complex Issue,” and “The Patient-Centered Solution: Our Health Care Crisis, How It Happened, and How We Can Fix It.”
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