Quote:
Originally Posted by sgtclub
Yes you would, because it doesn't cost you anything (or much). You, like others, I assume, have health care paid by your employer, and you are not going naked on your health insurance, because you are risk adverse.
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As of today, I cannot opt in, no matter what, the day I or my wife or kids get sick and have the treatment covered. Also, as of today, there is tremendous provider price discrimination b/t those w/ insurance and those w/o (those with get discounts of 50% or more off the rack rate of virtually everything). Also, as of today, if I want to opt in next week, the rate I would pay would be much higher, as there is tremendous insurer price discrimination.
Get rid of all three of those problems, and I would not carry insurance
Also, you hypothesized that everyone would be okay paying substantially more to cover anyone who has a catastrophic illness who decides to opt-in after diagnosis--what this would mean is that (say) 50% of Americans carry no coverage until they are diagnosed with cancer, then they all initiate coverage to defray the cost of their (again, say) $1,000,000 course of treatment. How much does insurance have to cost to cover all these people opting out until *immediately* prior to incurring a huge expense? Remember, everyone similarly situation by age has to pay the same rate, regardless of existing illness.
If there were no price discrimination by providers or insurers and I could opt in and out of insurance coverage as I saw fit (ie, whenever I needed it), hell yes I wouldn't pay for it every month**, because insurance would cost way more than $15000 per person per year (with current total medical expenditure of about $7500/person/year), to cover for all of the people who opt not to (or can't afford to) carry insurance and then drop it immediate after completion of a course of (expensive) treatment, which would be *most*.
**note, this is theoretical as my wife would not let this happen. I would *absolutely* do it, given those (impossible) facts.
