We are spoiled by our health insurance

John Stossel brought up an interesting perspective the other day. He pointed out that making insurance companies pay more is not the answer to the healthcare crisis. The problem is that we people have no stake in driving down the price of healthcare because it is free.

For comparison, he brings up that the cost of Lasik surgery has been driving down for years. Why? Because its not covered by health insurance. Make sense to me!

I started thinking that we treat our home and car insurance in kind of the same way. When something goes wrong with our plumbing or heating, we can a repairman, shop around for the best deal and go with one that meets all our needs. We don't call the insurance company! Imagine how much a plumbing or HVAC repair would cost if it was paid for by insurance? But if a tree falls on your house or something major happens, that is what insurance is for!

Similarly for your car. You don't charge tires, oil changes, and brake jobs to your car insurance provider. Insurance covers you in case of theft, accidents, etc.

Imagine if we applied that same kind of logic to health insurance. We'd shop around for the best prices on basic "personal" maintenance and minor repairs. Of course if we get cancer or some serious diagnosis then that is what insurance is for. That would save all of us money and make our system better because there would be price competition.

Of course the problem isn't this simple but this is the kind of mindset that would help. We need people to take responsibility for their own "maintenance" and basic upkeep. Insurance should be for unexpected, major, or catastrophic events.

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