Having health insurance is not a goal in itself. The goal is to be able to get health care when you need it. If you have health insurance but can’t get health care when you need it, your insurance has failed in its only purpose.
That’s why the idea of “underinsured” is just as important as “uninsured.” “Uninsured” means you don’t have any insurance at all. “Underinsured” means you have insurance — have already paid large amounts of money for it — and still can’t afford to get health care when you need it.
In Vermont, 187,000 Vermonters — almost 1 in every 3 — find themselves in that position according to the latest state survey. Despite pouring an ever-growing portion of their income into premiums for a health insurance policy, they find that the terms of that policy require they pour even more of their income into meeting the policy “deductible” before the insurance company is obliged to pay a dime for their health care. Want a lower deductible? Pay a higher premium.
People able to afford both the premium and the deductible get to consider whether their bank account allows them to also cover the “co-pay” or “co-insurance” the policy requires.
Health insurance is more an expensive obstacle course than a security blanket. Why continue relying on it when a publicly funded single payer system replaces obstacles with care for everyone and saves money to boot?
Lee Russ
Bennington