A Stunning Graphic from Aaron Carroll
He adds this observation:
By 2010, more than 60% of people lived in areas where insurance premiums cost at least 20% of their income. And that’s just premiums; it doesn’t include deductibles, it doesn’t include co-pays, and it doesn’t include co-insurance.
It isn’t often that you see a good reason to move to Idaho.
Proponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) counter that this is the reason the ACA is needed — to make health coverage affordable. However, I think it was economist, Thomas Sowell, who pointed out that if something is not affordable individually, it is also not affordable collectively.
Brian, don’t forget North Dakota.
WOW.
Note these are employer provided insurance plans. The price distortion of this system adds to the problem. And there have been numerous mandated minimum coverage requirements in the past decade imposed by government.
These premiums will be going up on average over the next 10.
This gives a whole new meaning to the term “blue state.”
Obamacare will exacerbate the problem, because we will have subsidies to help fund premiums over 10% of income.
That’s even better than student loans to pay for college, for the subsidies are not paid back!
Here is a simple potential solution for health insurance premiums:
Set up a 501(c)(6) insurer, which will pay medical bills of $50,000 and over.
Then, encourage other not-for-profits, such as 501(c)(4)s and 501(c)(15)s to start and flourish.
Their tax advantaged status is based on providing services and products that are not available commercially.
Think of the possibilities of various ways to cover the underlying $50,000 of exposure!
Think of the real competition that can make the commercial insurers innovate to benefit the insured and the insurers – particularly over the long run!
Don Levit
There still are remnants of the free market in the US health care system. People (and companies) are beginning to realize that what you need to do is simply
“stop paying for overpriced goods and services”
This explains the sudden growth of high deductible health plan demand. It is a way of “opting out” (to a degree) of an overpriced system.
Sher
http://highdeductiblehealthplan.org