People with health insurance feeling squeeze too
It shouldn’t take an article from the New York Times to let everyone know–even people with health insurance are feeling the sting of increasing medical care.
So just in case you didn’t know (the obvious):
Here’s the link
Higher premiums. Less benefits. Higher co-pays.
“It just keeps eating into people’s income,” as one quoted source states in the Times article.
COMMENT:
This article is stating the obvious, but the unstated moral of the story is: Get a health savings account plan. If you pay for your own health insurance premiums, it makes less sense than ever to keep over-paying for health plan coverage with bells and whistles that you don’t really need.
The other unwritten point made here is that people who can’t afford higher co-pays also can’t afford higher premiums that come with those plans. Lower co-pays mean higher premiums. This is a truism that many legislators simply don’t get–they continue to push more and more mandated coverage, thinking that insurance companies are simply going to absorb the additional cost required to provide those mandated benefits.
We need a dose of reality on this issue.






August 2nd, 2008 at 3:44 PM
The challenge is do consumers understand when to spend their HSA dollars wisely and when they can safely avoid care? A GAO study found that people using HSAs the most were those with high income who are using HSAs to fund retirement as well as accountants and doctors. The former know the tax advantages and the latter know when and how to spend their dollars carefully when it comes to medical costs.
That’s why I wrote the book Stay Healthy, Live Longer, Spend Wisely – Making Intelligent Choices in America’s Healthcare System. Written in an easy to understand format, it helps people be educated healthcare consumers so they know how to navigate the healthcare system like an insider. Read free book excerpts at http://www.davisliumd.com.
Davis Liu, M.D.
Author of Stay Healthy, Live Longer, Spend Wisely – Making Intelligent Choices in America’s Healthcare System.
http://www.davisliumd.com.
October 15th, 2008 at 4:33 PM
People should read this