NLIC.org

Jo Said:

National health insurance proposal?

We Answered:

What's your question, exactly?

If it was up to the individual to get their own, personal health insurance, even fewer people would have medical insurance. It is much, much, MUCH cheaper to purchase health insurance for people as a group than it is for people to purchase it individually. In many instances, the premiums that people are paying for employer-offered health insurance are only about half of the actual premium, because the employer is paying the other half. Sometimes the employer even pays MORE than half the premium.

People complain now about the high cost of insurance, but without their employer to share a portion of the premiums each month, the cost would be even higher.

I don't have an answer for the uninsured and under-insured population in this country. Personally, I think that rather than ask insurance companies to "spread the risk", hospitals and doctors and other medical service providers should offer special programs to those who don't have coverage. The fact that the cost of medical care is so outrageous is the real problem. Anytime a single Tylenol tablet costs $8 in a hospital, that should send a message - medical providers are grossly overcharging.

There is a large number of people in the US who are offered health insurance through their employer, but they elect not to take it because they think it's "too expensive". Many of those same people then get sick and run up major medical bills that they can't pay. It would've made much better financial sense to have elected employer-offered medical coverage than to now be struggling to pay outrageous medical bills because they had no insurance.

People need to take responsibility for themselves. Everyone wants to blame the insurance companies for the fact that insurance premiums are high and so many Americans have medical bills that they can't pay.

If your employer offers you medical coverage, TAKE IT! Anyone who has the chance to share the cost of medical insurance and chooses not to is ignorant. And their ignorance shouldn't have to impact me, or other logical-thinking, responsible Americans, in any way.