Protection from financial ruin

Why do we have any kind of insurance? For protection from financial ruin.


But the health insurance world doesn't quite work that way.

If a tree falls on your house, you assume your home owner's insurance would cover it. And it probably will except a relatively small deductible. If you get in a car accident, you assume your car insurance would cover it. And it probably will except for a relatively small deductible. If you get sick, you can assume you will end up paying a lot somehow because of what your health insurance won't cover.

That's the key difference. With any other kind of insurance, we assume we will be covered except for a relatively small proportion of the total amount which is why we carry the insurance. But we know our health insurance won't cover everything - they only cover the parts they want to unless you can get a special approval. What is wrong with this system? Everything. It is not designed to protect the patient from financial ruin.

I do not have a solution for this. It is a systemic problem which will require systemic change throughout the health care system.