And just as simply, re-instituted.
That is the problem. Insurance as an industry cannot function with that sort of instability.
They have to hedge toward that eventuality, and will necessarily invest accordingly - the end game being, health insurance will remain high.
So long as the requirements are for plans that force people to pay for care levels they might not opt for, insurance will have to remain high. The only place there is any 'give' left in that equation is in the deductibles and co-pays, which is why those amounts have skyrocketed along with the cost.
On our 'exchange' it would cost 28K a year in premiums for a policy for a family of 4 with 14K deductible...(before any subsidy paid, provided the family qualified). We're left taking our chances and paying out of pocket.
If we didn't have to pay for coverage for prenatal services, contraceptives, and a host of other things whose time is past, maybe that would be significantly less. If you want the insurance to pay for the little things, they will cost more because the billing the insurance company costs will be factored in, the paying the bill costs will be factored in, and all the costs for the whole rigamarole of different supervisory folks who oversee the entire shooting match will be factored in, too.
It's like getting an aspirin at the hospital, you pay for every step for the aspirin to be purchased, stocked, dispensed, transported, administered, and the paperwork to track and document it, when you could have bought a bottle of 500 for less at the store.
So, when people go from cutting a check to letting the insurance take care of it (and likely cutting that check, too), they incur a lot more expense. ...and I haven't mentioned the profit for the insurer, either.
