Martita, a sixty year old Texan, just received her individual health insurance renewal notice from Blue Cross, the only health insurance company that sells individual health insurance in her area in Texas.
She has a $6000 deductible with no first dollar coverage. Her premium is increasing to approximately $795 per month. When added to the deductible, her cost should she get sick and need the insurance will be $15,540 during the benefit year.
She can’t qualify for government welfare (called health insurance “subsidies”) since she is considered wealthy, although she would not accept charity anyway since she was raised differently than today’s entitlement generation. Accepting charity is immoral.
She can’t purchase a higher deductible because those kinds of policies are now illegal. (Yes, she can afford a higher deductible since she is wealthy by being frugal during her working years).
She can’t go without health insurance since as that would be financially irresponsible, plus she would be breaking the law and subject to punishment should she do so. (Of course she has no problem breaking a law or following orders that make no sense, may be immoral, could be criminal, etc. Afterall, the participants in the Boston Tea party were law breakers, George Washington was a fugitive from justice too).
Her policy is an HMO. BCBS will not sell her a PPO. Her choice of doctors is thus limited. If she gets cancer M.D. Anderson won’t accept her coverage for example (not on BCBS policy network).
She may be better off not having health insurance at all.
She can save almost $10,000 in premiums. She can offer to pay cash for health care services and get better deals than insurance companies get. $10,000 in cash equals about $50,000 or more in health care in this country.
If she gets really sick and needs insurance she can cross her fingers and hope she makes it financially until the federal open enrollment period when she can apply and receive pre-existing condition benefits. (But, of course, she won’t do that as it goes against her sense of right and wrong).
Poor Martita. She is so screwed…………………………
