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0 pointsrosser11y ago0 comments

Again, we don't have health "insurance". Actual insurance, as the term is used everywhere but in the American health care system wouldn't cover routine care like visits to your kid's pediatrician, but would cover major care such as surgeries — just like your car insurance doesn't cover oil changes, but does cover fender benders.

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4 comments · 3 top-level

judk11y ago· 1 in thread

Auto and home insurers in fact do pay customers for risk-mitigation actions like driver training and alarm systems, just as health insurers pay for preventive medicine.

rosserOP11y ago

They don't pay you for those things, and nor do they pay for them. They reduce your premiums if you have them. That's perhaps a subtle distinction, but it's a critical one.

If you're suggesting that an annual physical exam is the risk mitigation equivalent of a car alarm, then GEICO should have eaten the extra cost for purchasing a car with one installed instead of charging a lower premium because you have one.

arrrg11y ago

Huh? My (mandatory and public) health insurance in Germany does pay for that. For some short time there was a €10 co-pay for routine checks (obviously not covering the actual cost of the visit) but even that was abolished some time ago.

I mean, insurance doesn’t cover everything, obviously, but that mostly applies to nice to have things or aesthetic things that aren’t really necessary (e.g. root canal treatment for wisdom teeth is not covered – pulling wisdom teeth if the caries is causing problems that can’t be solved with fillings anymore is, glasses are not covered, etc.).

Houshalter11y ago

Well you could argue that those things might prevent larger expenses. Or people are just willing to pay for them.

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