A Health Payment Plan vs. A Health Insurance Plan

      We have become spoiled. Health Insurance plans were first offered by Corporations and other companies, right after World War II. At the time, wage and price controls were in force, so companies could not give raises to deserving employees, so they opted to give health insurance plans instead. As we went through the 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's, the unions started demanding more and better medical plans, that were also, usually, provided to non-union employees. They became medical payment plans, and not insurance plans. Insurance, by definition, is designed to protect you against a disastrous problem, not provide you with payment for every last dollar. You normally have a deductible on your Homeowner's, or Tenant's policies, and also on your Auto Insurance, but we want payment of 100% of any medical costs we incur paid by a insurance company or the government. A $50 copay? Outrageous!!
     When we go to the doctor today, and he/she says we need a certain test, the first question out of our mouth is - Is it covered? Not - Is it really necessary, or How much does it cost? We don't care how much it costs as long as we aren't paying for it. However, we are paying for it through either premiums to Insurance Companies or taxes to the Government. This is one of the major problems with health care today. If we took personal responsibility for our own health care and took it out of the hands of Insurance Companies and the Government, we could negotiate our own prices. Major Medical policies (High deductible, payment for everything beyond that) can be purchased for a very reasonable amount of money. If competition could be added into the equation, so that doctors, hospitals, labs, etc. had to compete for patients, costs would drop precipitously. The free market always does that.
     Why would any health care provider drop prices when they know they are not in competition with anyone? Think of the savings health care providers could provide if they did not have to get involved in all the bureaucratic paperwork required to deal with the insurance companies and the government. Imagine the further savings that could be provided if we had meaningful Tort reform in this country. Want a classic example of what the current system provides. There is a ad that runs on the Fox news channel concerning your "right" to sue over problems with some drugs out there. Know what the phone number is? 1-800-BAD DRUG. I think that says it all.