I haven’t been to a doctor in 10 years. Thanks to a combination of youth, good genes, luck, diet and exercise, I’ve been fortunate to be healthy.
Even so, except for brief periods, I’ve always had health insurance.
So when I lost my job in 2016, I signed up for an ACA plan. A year later, now self-employed, I had paid over $6000 in fees for insurance that I hadn’t used.
In 2017-18, to satisfy ACA requirements, I enrolled in a healthshare plan. This is quasi-insurance. It is a voluntary unregulated religious-based program that “promises” to cover health expenses but is not legally bound to do so. Over two years I paid $6000 in fees for this plan which I never used.
After my wife died in December 2018, I decided to go without health insurance.
My friends and family think I’m crazy. They have employer paid plans, medicare or Veteran’s coverage. They are convinced I can be covered by a low cost ACA plan because that’s what they’ve read about in the media. I, however, have looked into it. The least expensive ACA plan in my state (backwards North Carolina) would cost me between $12K-20K, before it covered any medical expenses.
I have decided I’ll pay cash for any minor medical issues.
If I run into major medical issues, I’ll refuse treatment. I’m OK with dying. I’m just not OK with allowing myself to be screwed over by the insurance/health care system and driven into poverty.
That plan worked well until this year.
First I had to have a root canal that cost $4000.
Then a strange lump appeared on my body. It was a hernia that required surgery. My cost is $7000.
I had hoped my first major health issue would be something like late stage cancer or a terminal disease. My decision would be easy then – no treatment.
However, it looks like I’ll survive the hernia so I bit the bullet and scheduled surgery.
Over the years, I’ve spent well over $200K to provide healthcare (and insurance) for my wife.
After she died in 2018, I had enough. I will never go through the numerous procedures, unnecessary tests and CYA treatments that she was subjected to.
So perhaps I don’t need health insurance. After all, as long as I have the cash to pay for it, I can get treatment. When I run out of money, I will run out of healthcare.
This is exactly the way we’ve built the US healthcare system (see T.U.F. for further explanation of how this works). The system is broken. We all know it. Just ask anyone who has health with insurance, billing and coverage issues.
I am not holding out hope that Universal Healthcare will happen in my lifetime.
I think it will require a complete collapse before our federal government will rewrite the US health insurance, medical and pharmaceutical industrial complex.
Until that happens, I’ll continue to roll the dice.