Health care reform and the average person
The recent healthcare debates highlight one of the least practiced components of Financial Planning: learning the facts.
Look at any newspaper, website, or television newshow and what you’ll see is someone with an open mouth yelling at someone else. These scenes of angry, yelling human beings should be a stark reminder that volume does not replace fact.
It may be that these Americans have read every single page of the 1,200 initial proposal for health care reform and developed deep, informed opinions about the proposed bill that have spurred them to action.
Or not. They didn’t read the bill, but wouldn’t it be nice if they did?
It is almost unanimous that we need “reform”. In our current system there are millions of uninsured people living without care while CEOs and corporations MAKE millions. How many Americans are aware of the profit margins and compensation schemes of the major health players? There is a reason the financial experts tout health care as the “hot” sector in which to invest: there’s money to be made, especially if insurers are careful about “cost containment” and “low risk exposure”.
To put it in perspective, Health Insurance is as big a GAME as investing and the INDIVIDUAL consumer does not have a say making the rules. Too bad because these are both serious and dangerous issues that affect every aspect of our lives.
But we are not without the ability to WIN at these games. Let’s look at health care for example. The question we need to ask is this: are we getting the best deal for ourselves with the policies we have?
A more important question is: do we know what policies are AVAILABLE? What are our OPTIONS?
In the current system there are vast numbers of people who will NOT be able to get insurance but for those that can, have you investigated every option? Imagine sitting at that gaming table with the insurance companies. Yes, they have they have stacked the deck but we DO have a hand to play and can be relatively successful if we follow two simple steps:
1. Take personal responsibility for your “hand”. Try and stay out of the game entirely by taking care of yourself. Exercise, eat right, and quit smoking. Cut the caffeine to 10 cups of coffee a day (or less). Don’t buy that soda and those whoppers. Imagine your body is a bag of money and the health care system wants it. Keep it from them for as long as you can by making the right choices.
2. Know your options. A 78 female asked me for help. She was spending over $400 a month on insulin and other medications. Her income was a $900 Social security check each month. She struggled with her payments for years, oblivious to medicaid and other programs that would have paid her bills and gotten her free or discounted prescriptions. Another anecdote: I am a 57 male and my health insurance premiums are $159 a month. (See my earlier article on HSA/HDHPs.) The insurance options are not just what your employer offers, or what Blue Cross/Blue Shield quotes you. There are unique components available for EVERY plan that can drastically change the cost or the coverage, or both.
Calling the health insurance system a “game” should help you get the right ATTITUDE: learn their rules and maximize your winnings or mimimize your losses. And when they change the rules with reform, learn the NEW rules and how to work with them.
I hate to keep saying it but it is YOUR life, YOUR money, and YOUR choice. No one can take them from you but yourself.
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