From: rjv@a2.cim.cdc.com (Rene Valdes)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.medicine
Subject: Re: HIAA and Reform
Date: 13 Dec 92 02:22:34 GMT
Reply-To: rjv@a2.cim.cdc.com (Rene Valdes)

In article <1992Dec8.171033.1@ssrl01.slac.stanford.edu>, 
tcox@ssrl01.slac.stanford.edu (Tony Cox - (415)926-3105) writes:
|> In article <50269@shamash.cdc.com>, rjv@a2.cim.cdc.com (Rene Valdes) writes:
|> > I am not going to defend the health insurance companies, but I find
|> > the above statement concerning people who are or are not health risks,
|> > extremely myopic.  The whole concept that I should pay little for my
|> > health care now because I am young and healthy only to be priced out
|> > of the market or flatly denied insurance later when I really need it
|> > is one of the most ridiculous ideas in the current debate.  Young healthy
|> > people and old ailing people are not apples and oranges.  They are one
|> > and the same, given a couple of decades.
|> 
|>    Ridiculous or not, it is founded upon the simple fact that as
|>    people get older, they _tend_ to have more medical problems.
|>    Young, healthy people are quite simply less costly than old
|>    ailing people, so if you pay for your insurance on a monthly
|>    or an annual basis, the premiums tend to increase with age.

Have you ever heard of something like a budget plan for gas or electricity
bills throughout a longer period of time?  Here, in the Northern USA, it 
is very common for people to pay a fix amount for gas or electricity that
is higher than they really consume in the summer in anticipation of costs 
that will be higher in the winter.  

Why can't we all pay a fixed amount for health care today in anticipation 
of costs that will be higher when we grow older?  If you price every single
individual or relatively small pools based on their level of risk at this 
moment, not only are you going to leave many uncovered when they most need 
it (health insurance is denied, not affordable, or simply refused one good 
day), but you are also spending enormous resources trying to figure out who 
is and who isn't a risk while intruding in pleople's private lives in a 
manner that many find highly questionable.

|>    By the way, young healthy people often grow up to be old
|>    healthy people.

Old healthy people are still considered a higher risk and are required
to pay higher premiums when their incomes are likely to be lower.
 
|>    My advice is start saving now for those higher insurance
|>    premiums which come with old age, and find a health plan which
|>    wont deny you insurance when you become ill.

This is a hopeless proposition.  Nobody (except for the very rich) can 
save enough to guarantee that they can cover all the premiums and all
the out of pocket expenses they might be stuck with if they become
seriously ill.  

Fortunately, our president-elect Clinton, the HIAA, and now the AMA all 
disagree with you and have acknowledged that we must provide universal 
coverage for all Americans in a way that each individual can rely on it 
throughout their lives.

|> 
|> Tony Cox, Stanford, CA
-- 
+-----------------------------------+------------------------------+
|     Rene J. Valdes                |     rjv@a2.cim.cdc.com       |
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Newsgroups: talk.politics.medicine