I'm not disagreeing with you I just need help understanding. I get a job. My job offers health insurance coverage, which most do now. I pay a small fee (<$200) per month to get the coverage. If I get hurt I go to a doctor and the insurance covers the costs in full, so long as they accept that insurance. How is this not ideal? What would be better for the tax payer?
Red pill alert.
Your doctor accepting insurance is not guaranteed, or even likely, these days. As insurance companies become more aggressive against doctors, an increasing number are either deciding not to put up with that bullshit at all (in New York, half the doctors don't take insurance at all because there are enough richies) or to only accept a couple of plans (which you won't get, unless your company is union and the union does a hell of a job). Companies often buy cheapskate insurance where the network is thin, and you may need a specialist but be unable to get one (in network) for several months, or have to drive 100 miles. In an emergency, you pay a lot out of pocket. Possibly $20,000+. That's with insurance.
Most plans also have high deductibles ($2000+) these days, which means that the first $2000 of expenses you will pay. There's typically an exemption for an annual physical and for routine stuff, but getting seriously sick is beyond what most Americans can afford.
Oh, and if you have to buy individual insurance (your employer isn't big enough to get a group plan) then you will be paying a hell of a lot more than $200 per month for it. If you've ever had a serious illness, make it $2,500 per month. Cancer survivors are uninsurable if seeking individual plans (chemotherapy is carcinogenic, believe it or not). Diabetics are fucked.
Finally, if you deal with anxiety or depression or panic attacks (hey, it happens) you will get a lot of pushback from health insurance, even on unrelated claims, because statistically people with MH issues (especially depression) are more likely to just give up and eat losses, or fuck up on paperwork and eat losses, on claims that the insurer should technically pay.
American health insurance is, with no exaggeration, a 9/11 every 24 days. 45,000 per year. Many of those have insurance.
Red pill alert.
Your doctor accepting insurance is not guaranteed, or even likely, these days. As insurance companies become more aggressive against doctors, an increasing number are either deciding not to put up with that bullshit at all (in New York, half the doctors don't take insurance at all because there are enough richies) or to only accept a couple of plans (which you won't get, unless your company is union and the union does a hell of a job). Companies often buy cheapskate insurance where the network is thin, and you may need a specialist but be unable to get one (in network) for several months, or have to drive 100 miles. In an emergency, you pay a lot out of pocket. Possibly $20,000+. That's with insurance.
Most plans also have high deductibles ($2000+) these days, which means that the first $2000 of expenses you will pay. There's typically an exemption for an annual physical and for routine stuff, but getting seriously sick is beyond what most Americans can afford.
Oh, and if you have to buy individual insurance (your employer isn't big enough to get a group plan) then you will be paying a hell of a lot more than $200 per month for it. If you've ever had a serious illness, make it $2,500 per month. Cancer survivors are uninsurable if seeking individual plans (chemotherapy is carcinogenic, believe it or not). Diabetics are fucked.
Finally, if you deal with anxiety or depression or panic attacks (hey, it happens) you will get a lot of pushback from health insurance, even on unrelated claims, because statistically people with MH issues (especially depression) are more likely to just give up and eat losses, or fuck up on paperwork and eat losses, on claims that the insurer should technically pay.
American health insurance is, with no exaggeration, a 9/11 every 24 days. 45,000 per year. Many of those have insurance.