This health care conversation happening in the US these days is really interesting to me. I've been trying to think about how I use my purchasing power and almost 100% of the time, it is motivated by what is best for me, my family, and my close friends. As a Christian, I should be using my choice of health care insurer to give aid to the weak, sick, lame, "least of these", right?
So, my understanding of how insurance works is that it works based primarily on probability.
100 people are insured under Plan A.
100 people are insured under Plan B.
Plan A has higher deductibles and co-pays, excludes pre-existing conditions, excludes annual exams, excludes prescription medication.
Plan B has lower deductibles, lower copays, covers pre-existing conditions, covers annual exams, covers prescription medication.
Plan A is cheaper, not only because of the higher deductible and copay, but also because it attracts younger, healthier people who don't need prescription meds, and don't go to the doctor except in an emergency, but also because only 5% of them use their insurance, so the ratio of people paying in to people taking out is very low.
Plan B gets people who need to have insurance that covers pre-existing conditions, people who are have family history of illnesses, people who need medication to maintain their health, etc and the cost goes up, because 25% of them need to use their insurance more regularly.
If I were looking out for my own best interest, Plan A is my plan, for the most part. I don't go to the doctor that often. I don't have any pre-existing conditions. I don't take medicine regularly. I would be paying for coverage I don't need if I got Plan B. But, if I think about society as a whole, and what is best for the people who are sick, I should go with Plan B, because increasing the pool of healthy people in Plan B means lowering the cost for everyone else who needs that plan. Right?
But no one looks at it that way. No one considers that when buying their insurance. So the people who are sick, who have a harder time paying for their insurance due to being out of work sick or being on fixed income, have an even harder time affording their health care. While the people who are healthy and can afford to work, keep getting cheaper insurance, choosing the cheaper insurance, and costs for them go down.
Which is why I believe someone needs to step in, and if no one else is, then I believe it is up to the government. Which is why I support health care reform.
