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Wednesday, August 26. 2009

Cheap Insurance

Via No Left Turns:



Private insurance works well where it’s least regulated. To find the unaffordable disasters, you must head to states such as New York or New Jersey that have pioneered the reforms Obama is peddling for the entire country. . . .


A 55-year-old man in Allentown, Pa., can choose from 99 plans starting as low as $141 a month for hospital coverage. A zero-deductible HMO plan costs $418 a month. Or he can pick a more flexible PPO, with a higher deductible and pay less monthly out-of-pocket for the premium.


Posted by The Barrister in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 13:10 | Comments (4) | Trackback (1)

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Maggie's Farm - a comment on Insurance
An interesting comment on Insurance costs at Maggie's Farm: Cheap InsuranceVia No Left Turns:Private insurance works well where it’s least regulated. To find the unaffordable disasters, you must head to states such as New York or New Jersey that have...
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Tracked: Aug 26, 23:30

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New York insurance regs are poison. Insurance firms have to create an independent subsidiary to sell there to contain the poison to one entity and safely separate the rest of the world. With some policies it’s just not worth the hassle of trying to sell there.

NJ, MA, and CA are the next worst if my memory is correct. People buying any kind of insurance in these areas have no idea how much of their premiums go to dealing with their states’ nonsense regulations.
#1 NJSoldier on 2009-08-26 13:56 (Reply)
Much of the cost of health insurance has to do with what will be covered. If you want a policy with more coverage, you will usually pay more for it. If you're forced a la NY, NJ, MA, CA, to accept more coverage, you'll pay more for it. Then the insurance company will be accused of exploiting you.
There are real problems with covering people who have pre-existing conditions and I won't say I have an answer. THe analogy has been made to applying for collision damage right after you hit the deer --demanding coverage in a pool you haven't paid into. But pre-existing health conditions aren't quite like that. If you have heart trouble from birth, you may still have it at age 26 and it may be tough to find a policy to cover it at a price you think you can pay.
#2 Geoff Brown on 2009-08-26 17:58 (Reply)
Many of the problems we have in the insurance market (and other markets) can be traced to government interference.

Good intentions do not make good policy. Regulation is often ill-conceived and not properly applied. To make things worse, it is often passed without regard to the impact it has on the existing regulatory framework. Compliance becomes costly, raising prices.

While I am not an anarchist, I do believe that markets will solve more problems and lower cost if allowed to work. There is a role for regulation and law, but it must proceed slowly and with caution.

Regulation focused on disclosure and on enhancing competition allows people the freedom to make informed choices. Of course, we all make decisions that are better than others.

Politicians need to stop thinking they need to do something about everything. People need to recognize the risk in the vain attempt to remove all risk.
#3 Barrett on 2009-08-26 21:48 (Reply)
Barrett, you are correct about politicians needing to stop thinking they have to solve everything.
People disagree about what needs solving in the first place.
People disagree about how to solve the things we agree need solving.
There are many problems that aren't the government's job to address.
There are good things that the government must not demand.
There are bad things the government must not prohibit.
#3.1 Geoff Brown on 2009-08-26 22:59 (Reply)

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