Health care will never be “affordable!”

2013

“Affordable” is the most overused word this decade (not really, “amazing” is the by far the winner). However, defining affordable is nearly impossible and when it comes to health care, it is impossible. That’s the first reason health care will never be affordable; it’s in the eye of the beholder.

The second and more significant reason is that diverting discretionary money from what you want to spend it on to something you must spend it on and often unpleasant to boot, means health care will never be seen as affordable.

Today affordable is loosely thrown around creating the illusion that the Affordable Care Act is magically making premiums … you guessed it, affordable. The New York insurance exchange actually runs TV ads talking about low premiums. So what is a low premium, $200 a month, $500? I’m betting that even if you make $100,000 a year, you don’t see $6,000 spent on insurance as affordable.

Here is a good example of what I mean.

Regina Steely, an uninsured 45-year-old from Eureka, Kan., was once a big supporter of the health-care law. But she changed her stance this fall after learning that the online exchanges weren’t working well and that coverage, even after government subsidies, could cost her $80 a month—too much for her budget. Recently, she heard that HealthCare.gov is functioning better, but she said she is busy taking care of remodeling her home and trying to find a full-time job. She doubts she will find the time to sign up before Monday. WSJ 12-20-13

Whoa, $80 a month is unaffordable, but she is remodeling her home. Is this a chicken or egg thing?

But wait, there is more good news, that $500 a month allows you to pay for 100% of your health care until you have spent $2,500 (more than my first new car) and then you get to pay 20% of your expense for the next $10,000 or so.

So what is affordable health care? It’s as illusive as quality health care

How do you define affordable health care? Is your coverage affordable?