Why isn't health insurance required when many other forms of insurance are required?

Question

Wouldn't this solve the health care crisis?

The people don't forgo health care, they don't pay the hospitals or doctors.

Answer 1

because human beings are more susceptible and more probable to get sick, need medication, not to mention the near certainty of old age which begets more health problems as opposed to drivers getting into accidents or homes burning down or getting burglarized. it has to do with the probability of risk. insurance companies almost certainly always have an out-of-pocket cost on medical policies even after collecting the premiums whereas other types of insurance carries much less probability of loss payment. that can also be seen wrt medical insurance premiums as opposed to other insurance premiums which are much lower in $ amount.

as for solving the health crisis, mandating health insurance by law doesn't work because the quality of care will plummet. the answer is to control the cost of medical care . how you do that is what we've been looking for for the last 25 years. probably a combination of larger health coverage for as many people running concurrently with lowering of costs of mediacal providers like doctors, hospitals, labs, drug companies, medications and less litigation. everybody's gotta give some in order to meet in the middle somewhere.

Answer 2

I don't agree with your question however; without argument agree with your concern.

1. Car insurance is required "if" you drive.
2. House Insurance is required "if" you want to obtain a mortgage.
3. Business insurance is required "if" you own a business.
4. Health Insurance is required, "if" you want to live healthy.

This issue is not an easy one to solve and probably will stay a topic of conversation in congress rather then a solution.

My personal solution of the uninsured market place is education rather then handouts or requirements. As an insurance executive myself, I deal with numerous requests for health insurance. The problem with society is that people are shopping when they have already inherited a risk.

For instance, a highly educated self-employed friend of friend in her 30's asked me if I can help her find health insurance. I advised what coverage she had currently? She replied by telling me that she never needed insurance and was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and looking for a policy. Understandably, the individual carriers have been denying her access...

Given my friend of a friends situation two opinions are formed.

1. The insurance carrier is making all money and will not accept any bad risks even though it would be the right thing to do. They should pay for her claims through all their profits.

2. The intent of health insurance is to protect from unexpected lost not when you acquire one. It is not a good business move to allow only the sick to apply for coverage. This will cause the rates to go higher of those whom entered the pool for the right reasons.

I have some thoughts on solutions however; people often dismiss them as they are not immediate hand out remedies and more long term. These solutions revolve around changing the culture of americans regarding healthcare rather then just handing it to them.

The last thing anyone really wants is a gov't based system of coverage or some requirement. Can anyone imagine what the healthcare system would look like with Medicare reimbursment rates to all doctors and hospitals and a gov't body larger then the IRS running it? Also, if we forced private insurers to inherit all these risky people?

Answer 3

The only forms of insurance I know are required are automobile and mortgage and both have a mechanism for enforcement even if auto is not at times.
There are people who believe that if everyone had health insurance the crisis for people who don't have it would be solved, but there are others who think costs would go up even faster. As for requiring it - listen to the screams of "socialized medicine" that result, so it will be private insurance and stockholders of insurance companies will rake a percentage off the top.
What is really stupid is that Medicare and insurance companies do not allow hospitals to take a "bad debt" allowance as all other businesses do, so the hospitals crank the uninsured rate way, way up and then give huge discounts to Medicare and insurance in the name of "direct costs"

Answer 4

The health care crisis would be solved if everyone (young and old) was required to purchase health insurance but not everyone can afford the coverage. If everyone had insurance the cost would be reduced somewhat because the costs would be spread out over a larger "pool" but it would still be pretty expensive.

Instead many people think that the government should offer universal "free" insurance even though we all should know that nothing is free

Answer 5

The ONLY form of insurance required by law (except in MA), is workers compensation (except in TX). ANY OTHER kind of insurance, is something you agree to by contract. There's a way out of NOT having it. Don't want auto insurance? Don't drive, or borrow money for a car. Don't want homeowners? Pay cash for your home.

It would NOT solve the healthcare crisis. Two reasons . . .half the uninsured people in the US today, are here ILLEGALLY. They drive on our roads illegally with no insurance, they take illegal jobs, what in the WORLD makes you think that requiring people to have health insurance, would get them insured?

Second reason - have you heard about the social security crisis? By the time *I* retire, there will be TWO PEOPLE working to provide my benefits. Well, you can't TAX people that much! AND pay the SS overhead! Adding on 35 TRILLION dollars of annual expenses, PLUS OPERATION COSTS (with the government, 20% of every dollar goes to the actual cost, 80% to overhead, meaning, heck, what comes after a trillion?), well, do YOU want to pay 90% income tax rate? I think it would collapse the whole system.

Answer 6

HMO's and the other companies would LOVE coverage being mandatory. Affordability already is impossible, something mandatory would result in financial ruin for millions. Outside of employment coverage (which itself is way out of line) just try buying it for yourself. Sit down before you see what it costs.

We'll never see improvement: the drug and health lobby is the 500lb gorilla...just ask Hilary Clinton. They flattened her before so her plan now is terrible, just what the insurance industry wants.

Sky high costs of health care is like the high price of gas..Americans just keep paying and paying without much of a whimper. Try figuring that out.

Answer 7

Required insurance is normally in place to protect others, not yourself. You only need liability auto insurance to cover damage to other cars/people, you have to have comp and collision if you have a loan to protect leinholder. You only need homeowners coverage if you have a mortgage to protect mortgage company. The theme here is that these insurances are not here to protect you (like health insurance would be) but to protect others.

Answer 8

Thats part of the great "health care" debate going on now. But the other side of the coin is that if its going to be "required" then it must be available and affordable. Right now it often isn't for many.

Answer 9

Cause we have medicaid to bail out the poor uninsured. ? This wouldn't solve anything, as the money will come from our pockets in some form as either higher taxes, or long lines for medical help. Try to get a hernia operation in Canada, you'd be lucky if it took 1 year..

Answer 10

Health insurance covers yourself. Only YOU care about yourself. The other insurances cover possible injury or damage to people or things that are not yours(so you have no right to make a negative impact on)lest your sorry "behind" gets sued.