All is Unfair in Love and Healthcare

I mentioned in an earlier post that I loved my HDHP and associated H.S.A., so far. Well, after reading this article, my mood has soured, since I feel like I’m getting shafted simply for being female. I’m healthy and don’t utilize any health services other than preventative care on an annual basis. In fact, my insurance company hasn’t paid one cent in claims since my individual policy became effective on January 1st of this year, and they most likely won’t given that I have to pay out-of-pocket, even for well-care, until I’ve reached my $2500 deductible. I bypass them completely for the one prescription medication I take because I can get a far better deal from Walgreen’s 90-day plan for $12 (with an annual membership) than I would with the insurer’s negotiated price, so they aren’t incurring any costs here. Essentially, my insurer will make a $1740 profit off me for 2008, which represents a cumulative twelve months of premiums debited from my checking account. They’re clever enough not to accept credit cards for payment, so they aren’t facing a 2-3% skimming charge for premiums paid.

Now, I’m aware that my insurance premiums are fairly low for a mid-30s female. But, as the article points out, I do not have maternity coverage that drives up the cost of care for women in their child-bearing years. I also don’t have mental health coverage, another expensive benefit that insurers restrict heavily for both sexes. So, I’m not sure how my insurer justifies charging me a much higher premium than a man my age and with a similar health status on account that I’m a woman in an age class with a higher utilization rate. Hello! I can’t utilize the frickin’ benefits for which I’m supposedly being charged the higher premium. And, why do insurance companies push routine care as a cost-containment strategy, if they’re just going to punish those who heed the calls for regular check-ups and primary care more frequently (women) than those who don’t (men). Yes, in general, men are less likely to seek routine care, but why should this derelict behavior be rewarded with financial incentives (i.e., lower premiums)? It’s only going to cost us all more in the end when the men show up in an ER near death because they’ve neglected their health until the moment of crisis.

I am so tired of the backassward logic that permeates the healthcare industry where all the players tout the benefits of preventative and routine care, yet dump the financial ramifications on the shoulders of compliant patients who are trying their best to stay healthy and avoid unnecessary use of the healthcare system. Does nobody in politics understand the basic problem with our healthcare system—that true health is not rewarded, but illness is? Is nobody concerned about the dismal inequities in quality of care? Has no one caught on to the fact that competition within the industry has not resulted in decreased costs? Does no one care about widespread sex discrimination in the individual health coverage market where everyone is literally at the corporate players’ mercy? Hmm, I guess this rant makes me sound like a socialist. Well, if believing in fundamental egalitarianism within the healthcare system (and all aspects of life) is socialist, then sign me up!