HEALTH INSURANCE IS NOT AUTO INSURANCE

George Offerman

Obama has been doing his traveling circus routine over the past few weeks or so to sell the hell care law to the populace. One of his favorite analogies is to compare health insurance with having auto insurance, and the fact that the government ‘requires’ those who drive to have auto insurance. On the surface, this looks like a very solid argument and many people will stop any debate after thinking about this point thinking they don’t have much of a retort for this.

While this is not the main point of this posting, it should be noted that people, in fact, can and do drive without auto insurance, and at least in the state (Commonwealth) of Virginia there is the uninsured motorist fee and fund that in effect, allows those to drive without insurance. (One could argue the fine for not having health insurance is the same.) There are most likely similar laws in the other states, and some of the fees that those who have insurance go to the liability of those who do not. (I have a rider on my policy for that).

Auto insurance is used only for catastrophic reasons, and the point of having it is to protect lives, property and lawsuits. Auto insurance does not cover regular maintenance of the vehicle, such as oil changes, tires, tune ups, mufflers, and other problems that are typical of auto ownership and regular use of an auto. Auto insurance also does not cover negligence, such as burning out a transmission or engine due to poor maintenance. Auto insurance will not cover “cosmetic” changes, such as painting a car simply to change the color, or having all chrome parts for show. There are also no riders for suing auto mechanics if work is not done properly, and if the car is damaged, the burden of proof is on the driver to prove he did not cause the damage versus the auto insurance, or auto mechanic.

However, health insurance is seen as all encompassing, and according to proponents ‘should cover all health related issues, from pre existing conditions to some elective procedures”. It has come to be expected that all medical procedures, including regular doctor visits, common illnesses such as a cold, flu or other ‘maintenance’ maladies be covered either in totality or should have low co pays. Because of this, many people will utilize medical appointments, instead of relying on some common sense and taking care of many of these issues through use of over the counter medication. It is many of these appointments, that are primarily unnecessary, that clogs the system, and creates the most amount of paperwork. If it were fee based, like an oil change, the requirements would be much less, and the system would be far more efficient and many people would really consider whether they should seek medial attention or not.

Currently, most health care costs also pay for those maladies that are a result of ‘negligence’ or poor lifestyle choices. There are those who continue on making poor lifestyle choices such as smoking, overeating, drinking too much, not exercising, poor diets, and in the end, have this all covered. No one has mandated (yet) lifestyle standards that would reduce the need for health care services, which would reduce the costs for everyone, and ultimately allow for more time and resources when one actually needs to utilize the medical profession. For those who believe this is an unfair statement, consider that it is those who stay healthy who are actually paying for their care. Unlike auto insurance, that is a tiered system, health insurances are mandated to charge the same amount now regardless of the risk factors the individual has, and it ultimately penalizes the individual who works hard to stay healthy.

Finally, there will be certain ‘elective’ procedures that will be covered, and the most glaring of these is child killing on demand. There is absolutely no say so for those opposed to not only the law that allows for child killing, but no recourse legally to opt out of this system. Auto insurance allows for many different riders and tiers, but not health care insurance. So, people will be allowed to live any way they want, without anyone telling them what to do, yet these same people will then make demands on those willing to play by the rules (the healthy) that they subsidize these choices. Unlike Auto insurances, that can ‘drop’ the poor drivers, health insurance will be covered by new taxes and rate increases to those who ‘can afford to pay’ and will pay for them with no recourse.

So the next time you hear this malarkey from Obama, that health insurance requirements is similar or the same as auto insurance, just remember; this is the same guy who promised the most ethical, open, honest and fair government in the history of our country. Change we can believe in. Do you believe yet?