Collection without consent

Household budget. Generally a household has monthly income and monthly expenses. These can be lined up in two columns, and decisions can be made about how much can be spent each month in each of a number of areas: housing, food, clothing, entertainment, etc. This process is called making a budget.

This post is about dealing with expenses which do not occur monthly, and which in the limit may not occur at all. One way to handle these is to "save for a rainy day." Another is to purchase "insurance." Personally, I prefer to avoid insurance, and purchase it only when--and in the amounts--required by law. For other types of expenses, I prefer "self-insurance" which is to say saving for that possible future rainy day.

The family car will one day need to be replaced. The water heater will one day need to be replaced. For this kind of thing, "insurance" doesn't apply, because the event is certain to happen. The only unknown is when it will happen.

Insurance applies only when the event is not certain or when its cost would exceed an amount that the family is willing to save. Paying an insurance premium is a way of saving for the un-hoped-for event. Purchasing insurance means pooling those savings with others, preferably many others, so that the risk is spread around.

"Health insurance" is a ridiculous concept. Why? Because the event (needing to consult a doctor or visit a hospital) is pretty much sure to happen, and the cost usually doesn't exceed an amount that a family could reasonably be able to save.* So pooling your savings with other people is absurd. Why? Because the "insurance" company will take a cut (generally at least 20%), and they will set up all kinds of road-blocks and barriers to your being able to tap into your savings.

Much better to save for future health care needs.

However, our country has made this impossible! We are required, by law, to pool our savings with others pay "premiums" to "health insurance" companies. If we choose not to, we are penalized by increased taxes**. If we choose not to, we are lumped in with others who can't afford premiums and are counted as part of the number of those who "do not have health insurance."***

We don't want it! We think it is stupid! We reject the notion that we must pool our savings with others. We don't wish nameless companies to take part of our savings for their own use and profit and then tell us what we can and cannot do with the rest of it.

May we please have legislation that makes it unlawful for anyone to profit from our relationship with health care providers!

no more collection without consent

* The exception is the only health insurance that can correctly be called an "insurance" at all: catastrophic health insurance. By all means, purchase this if you want to be saved from cancer, etc.

** This is outrageous. First, it was imposed as a way to get around the fact that a law requiring citizens to make a purchase is unconstitutional! Second, what guarantee do we have that that tax penalty will benefit someone else who is unwilling too poor to save for their own medical expenses?

*** It is somehow considered a bad thing to be without health insurance. Obviously, I disagree and think of it as a smart thing, and resent being counted as a victim when it is something that I freely choose.