One Major Step to Fixing our Health Insurance System

Posted by Andrew Friesner

November 9, 2009

Our current health insurance and health care system in general is broken. There is not one end all be all solution to the problem, but there is one major change that I believe moves us in the right direction. That is taking the employer out of the health insurance equation. Did you know that companies ended up becoming the primary provider of health insurance coverage by accident based on the IRS determining that employers could write off health insurance costs as a business expense during World War II?

If we could take the employer out of the middle of this very important individual decision, we would put the responsibility on the individual where it should be in the first place. By making the individual the consumer, we will then empower the individual to understand their current health insurance and usage decisions. This brings up two important points that would need to be adjusted; the tax structure and mandatory participation.

By changing over to an individual consumer model, we would then be able to make changes to the current tax structure to allow everyone to pay for their health insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars. It makes no sense for only the individual who has an employer sponsored health insurance option to be able to deduct the premiums when they are purchasing health insurance and then also not be able to retain the coverage when they leave their current job.

In addition, we could require that everyone have health insurance because everyone has an economical option and the government would provide subsidies based on income to supplement the premiums, similar to the way Medicaid is set up. Therefore, if you had the ability to pay, you would be responsible for paying and if you had limited ability to pay then you would be able to pay a portion and still be involved as the consumer.

By bringing the individual to the forefront and taking the employer out of our health care decisions we will no longer insulate individuals from being actively involved in their health insurance decisions. Although these changes alone will not completely fix the current mess we are in, it does put the responsibility on the individual and gives them no excuse to not have health insurance coverage that they can keep no matter what their situation.

Although we are not set-up perfectly in regards to underwriitng requirements in order to purchase individual health insurance policies, there are options to purchase individual health insurance on your own. I would receommend that everyone at least speak to a health insurance advisor and understand their options and make an informed decision as to what plan they should have and with which carrier and why. By going to websites such as www.HealthInsuranceChaser.com you can quote all of the carriers instantly and then speak with an advisor about your options and how they compare to your current plan. Everyone’s situations are different and need to be treated that way.

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