At our place of business, we’ve been hit with a major increase in our medical premium rates. Of course, what makes this even more aggravating is that the insurance carriers do not really offer any valid justification for the major rate increase. In the Dayton area there are essentially two major carriers that have the market locked-up: Anthem and United. Thus, there’s not much of an opportunity to shop around.
Since I’ve spent the majority of my life being an entrepreneur running small businesses, I have a bias toward allowing the individuals to act as a consumer and determine their personalized cost/benefit in every decision they make. Unfortunately, most people in the US view comprehensive health care as an entitlement as basic as free speech… The reality is that our economy cannot afford to offer everyone the opportunity for unlimited medical treatment that is covered by a third party. Thus, we will need health care where the consumer decides how much he is willing to spend. The emergence of Health Savings Accounts (HSA) is getting us closer to this eventual reality. This article in the American Spectator does a decent job of discussing some of the business and political implications of the HSA.