Health Insurance Makes No Sense At All

Every year my health insurance goes up. This year it was $803.00 a month. I only went to one doctor and I had to pay a deductible of $203.00. (It was for an ear canal cleaning.) The insurance doesn't cover holistic doctors or my masseuse. It's pretty much useless in practical terms although I guess it gives me some kind of peace of mind-- even though, as I mentioned yesterday (What Do Doctors Know)-- I think of hospitals as places were one goes and gambles with a good chance of being killed by a system only tangentially concerning itself with health.

TimeWarner had a special sweet deal for retiring division heads which allowed me to keep my COBRA coverage until Medicare kicks in. It looked like a good deal at the time, although it hasn't worked out that way at all. Every now and then I get a letter from the plan administrator. It's always a rate increase. ALWAYS. I don't think a single year has gone by without one. And, more often than not, the rate increase is accompanied by a reduction in services and benefits. Here's the most recent list of bad news that came along with the most recent rate increase:

• In-network deductibles have been added, however, in-network preventative care services will still be paid at 100% with no deductible.

• Deductibles and annual out-of-pocket maximums have increased.

• In-network and annual and out-of-network coverage has changed:

• Select Plan: In-network coverage: 90%; Out-of-network coverage 70%

• Standard Plan: In-network coverage: 80%; Out-of-network coverage: 60%

• Coinsurance will replace flat-fee copays. Coinsurance is a percentage of the cost for health care services thatyou must pay in addition to your deductible. For example, if you see an in-network doctor, under the Standard Plan you will pay 20% of the doctor's negotiated rate and the Plan will pay 80% after you meet yoyur deductible.

The first time I met Howard Dean he was an asterisk in the presidential primary polling. He came over to my house for breakfast and I had no preconceptions at all. Then he started talking about the inherent corruption of the health insurance industry and how the country had to fix the problem in order for our society to thrive. He won me over entirely. I wish he would have told Obama about how he saw it too.