Taking a vacation from healthcare.

Here I am reading the Sunday newspaper and I am reminded of the alleged high costs of healthcare. This article indicates that even those with insurance are feeling the pinch. Apparently the various additional fees associated with insurance plans – like copayments – can add up to be significant.

I find consumer’s behavior toward health and associated costs, including insurance, to be perplexing. Consumers simply don’t want to pay for health related items. Why does the $2000 a year vacation have higher priority? Why are those $300 a seat tickets to the Red Sox game critical to have? Why do people need to have those hideous, gas guzzling SUVs? Oh, and what about the $4 cup of coffee at Starbucks. It doesn’t make sense. Where are peoples’ priorities?

And there is also a high degree of misunderstanding regarding healthcare costs? Most people don’t understand the difference between health insurance and a health plan. Insurance is protection against a catastrophic event. The implication is that insurance doesn’t cover ordinary items, such as routine checkups. A good analogy is auto insurance. It covers accidents, but not routine items such as oil changes, tires, and brakes. Health coverage implies some thing that is more comprehensive than insurance. HMO plans address health coverage, but most are not without additional costs. A plan with virtually no out-of-pocket expenses would be prohibitive – and likely not a good value to most consumers anyway.

The upshot of all of this is that healthcare is a responsibility of the consumer. It is just like food, shelter, and transportation costs. Until consumers assume a responsibility for their own healthcare and associated costs, the system will appear to be broke. So, for those who would rather think about a vacation rather than their own healthcare, good luck.