The Great Healthcare Debate

One of the most heated political conversation pieces of recent years is the debate over health care premiums. On one side you have individuals that complain that high heath care cost is preventing many individuals from receiving proper health care services. On the flip of the coin in the debate you have a group of people that feel most people whom don’t pay for healthcare insurance are driving up rates making the responsible health care provider investing Americans pick up the medical bill for the rest of the country. The interesting piece of information is that both sides are somehow picking up the tab for the healthcare bill through ever expanding insurance premiums and the rising cost of healthcare.

Deductible Costs

According to Goodman, 2018,“A Kaiser Family Foundation study finds that about half of all people with employer provided coverage have a deductible of at least $1,000.” If we do the math we can see that this nice round figure of one thousand dollars is fairly safe to insurance by allowing them to continue collecting premiums and not covering the individual until after a 1000.00 dollar out of pocket cost is met. Some insurance companies have an up to $7,150 deductible which will likely never cost the insurance a dime until the recipient starts to experience expensive healthcare treatments which could be in their elder years.

What the Government Allows

The federal government currently allow healthcare providers and insurance companies $7900 for an individual and $15,800 for a family. With the economies current status, this amount of expense could very well send a family or a single individual spiraling towards debt. It seems like whichever side of the debate we are on, we are still being held financially responsible for the increase in premium.("Healthcare.gov", 2019).

Buyer Beware

According to Weliver, 2017, “Your health insurance deductible is the amount that you will have to pay annually for your healthcare (such as surgical procedures, blood tests, or hospitalizations—but not some routine care) before the health insurance pays anything.” With higher deductible plans, the insurance carrier is more likely to have their bottom line covered making the healthcare recipient the more vulnerable of the two.

By: Lawrence Cabrera

References


https://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoodman/2018/05/11/high-deductible-health-insurance-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#3040ad977b18(Goodman, 2018)


Healthcare.gov(2019). Retrieved from https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/out-of-pocket-maximum-limit/


Weliver, D. (2017). Money Under 30. Retrieved from https://www.moneyunder30.com/understanding-your-health-insurance