Originally Posted By: Nyogtha
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I have an hdhp. So I pay the first few thousands out of pocket, which is how insurance should be. It has made us emphasize cost (yes you can ask for pricing and you can negotiate), and planning, as well as being smart about not expecting something so stupid as all other insureds paying your bill to have the doctor tell you that you have a cold.
Reality too is that many doctors are overpaid, many provide low value, and if the insurance companies are changing formats to provide lower cost approaches, market forces will make the doctors come in line. Plenty of them have loans, debts, and like to eat too. Sure I have multiple friends who have started over $300k/yr, but if in the new scheme they play tough and don't see enough patients, they won't have billable hours and they won't earn their money.
Thankfully for those of us with chronic health issues (including my wife who has never smoked and doesn't drink but developed breast cancer at an early age), there are choices without a high deductible. I'm all for choices rather than dictating to everyone how things "should be". We don't go to Dr.'s for colds either.
Less choice, less freedom. But clearly not everyone believes in freedom of individual choice. There are always those who believe everyone should be free to ONLY choose the same choice they make.
Well it all depends on how often you go and how much medicine. If I needed meds all the time and went to the doctors frequently like some people do then I would pick a plan that has a lower deductible and just pay more per month. My concern is I have insurance I can't even use cause doctors won't take it. Might as well not have any and pay out of pocket for office visits and then make a "reasonable effort to pay" if I get hospitalized. Might as well work the system, that's what everyone else does. When you can rack up a 50,000 dollar bill and then pay $10/ month why bother.