The problem is the healthcare cost is insane. You will go through $40k after a good injury that may need a major surgery or few smaller surgeries. Average cost for hip replacement is $40k.
I've had a sports hernia and the bill was about $30k.
> And what the OP is pointing out is that if your injury is $30K, insurance covers nothing, because the premium + deductible is $40K.
The point of insurance is to mitigate risk. If you think you have enough money to cover your risk, there's no reason to buy insurance.
The sleight of hand here is first complaining that you did not incur enough hazards to offset the risk premium and then citing this as a reason the risk premiums should not exist. Where is the story of the family being weighed down by bills? Or of not getting physical therapy after an injury and having permanent, income-reducing disabilities?
Risk is not the only factor. Premium cost is probably the more important one for most. If someone can afford the $40k deductible option, but not the $5k option, you’ll just have to accept the risk. Increasing earnings significantly right now is harder than hoping medical bankruptcy won’t matter in the long run.
30% of US households make less than $50k. That’s more than 100,000,000 people in homes with less than $3.6k/mo for all living expenses. The stories you ask for are simply inevitable
In my country people are already complaining about a 300 euro deductible (my mom has a chronic illness so she hits that every year)...
I surmise that either Americans are all rich and have 40k in savings that they can lose with no sweat or
America is hell for anyone not rich
> The point of insurance is to mitigate risk.
Agreed - both to you and to society.
What's under debate is "how much risk." For most people in the US, they'll need help before they hit $40K. They can't afford paying $40K every year for medical and medical related expenses.
OP was talking about a family for $30k.
Imagine 2 people get injured in a year, you are now at $60k. Plus, $150 a visit for primary and $300+ for specialist.
My 5 year old has been to the hospital 3 times, stitches once. US healthcare will ruin you if you don't have insurance. A cancer treatment can bankrupt a millionaire.
That's crazy, I looked it up and the average cost for a hip replacement here in the private system in Australia is about $24k (US$16k).
You can get it for basically nothing in the public system but you might have to wait a year or so if it's considered elective (emergency surgery is immediate of course), but most people with private health insurance can get the procedure done within in a few weeks and would only have to pay about $1000 (US$650) out of pocket with a $500 excess (which is pretty common), because the anaesthetist and surgery are usually invoiced separately. Some plans do have lower excesses (like $350) though if you pay higher premiums.