Re: The Near-Necessity of Health Insurance

["E. Allen Smith" <EALLENSMITH@ocelot.Rutgers.EDU>]

From:	IN%"tcmay@got.net" 18-SEP-1996 02:54:27.36

>Personally, I have not been a patient in a hospital in my entire adult
>life. Nor have I seen a doctor, except for a mandatory college physical in
>1970 and an insurance company physical in 1977. I just haven't broken any
>bones, had any serious illnesses, or felt the need to visit a doctor, an
>emergency room, or a walk-in clinic of any sort. I suppose I've been lucky.
>Also, I dislike hospitals and avoid doctors unless there seems to be a
>compelling need. So far, there has not been.

	While this is certainly your business, I would suggest at least
one physical a year, including blood work, as a good preventative measure...
I believe it _has_ been shown to extend lives; I can do a Medline lookup if
desired.

>In other words, the person who insures himself (through savings and
>investments) and who offers to pay for treatment out of his own funds, may
>be at a serious disadvantage. He pays the inflated rates for services, and
>may face delays in being admitted to a hospital.

[...]

>(Obviously the folks who use their insurance routinely, as one of my
>engineers once used to do (he'd take his kids to the hospital every time
>they sneezed), are being subsidized by those of us who avoid hospitals at
>all costs.)

	Actually, the major subsidy appears to be that employer-paid
health insurance isn't a taxable benefit. The status regarding self-insured
persons such as you is constantly changing, but they're looking at subsidizing
that also. Essentially, taxes paid by those with low or no employer-paid
health insurance are subsidizing those with high-cost employer-paid health
insurance.
	-Allen