For over 99% of people, the prospect of an unlikely, but financially devastating illness is too severe to risk, and health insurance is indispensable. But obviously that's not true for everyone. If your last name is Gates, Bezos, or Buffett, it isn't conceivable that a health problem could have a meaningful impact financially, and health insurance is a bad deal. For everyone in between billionaire status and just making enough to not qualify for Medicaid, the risk/benefit analysis of health insurance is less straightforward.
Suppose you didn't have employer subsidized coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. At what point would you stop paying for a bronze plan at current prices? If you had $10 million? $50 million? $100 million?
A closely related question is at what price point (given your current level of assets) you'd stop paying for a bronze plan (assume you don't have any other good options, like health sharing). Right now it is $2700 a year or so on average for one person. However the deductible is over $5k, so you'd pay $7500 or more before using it. What if it were $10,000? $25,000? $50,000? Or would you pay even more?
Considering that one can now get health insurance every year during open enrollment, PEC's or no, I doubt I'd purchase a plan if I had over $20 million, nor would I pay more than $50k a year for a bronze plan with my current assets. I'm curious where the rest of you would draw the line. Health insurance may be indispensable for most of us, but that doesn't mean the demand for it is perfectly elastic and we'll all just pay whatever we're charged.
Suppose you didn't have employer subsidized coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. At what point would you stop paying for a bronze plan at current prices? If you had $10 million? $50 million? $100 million?
A closely related question is at what price point (given your current level of assets) you'd stop paying for a bronze plan (assume you don't have any other good options, like health sharing). Right now it is $2700 a year or so on average for one person. However the deductible is over $5k, so you'd pay $7500 or more before using it. What if it were $10,000? $25,000? $50,000? Or would you pay even more?
Considering that one can now get health insurance every year during open enrollment, PEC's or no, I doubt I'd purchase a plan if I had over $20 million, nor would I pay more than $50k a year for a bronze plan with my current assets. I'm curious where the rest of you would draw the line. Health insurance may be indispensable for most of us, but that doesn't mean the demand for it is perfectly elastic and we'll all just pay whatever we're charged.
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