Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Did you know you are buying three products when you buy health insurance n USA?

Many people don't realize but they are really buying 3 products when they buy health insurance:
  • Discount Card - Whether we realize it or not, the list prices offered by most service providers are 2 to 10 times the negotiated price an insurance company pays to the service provider for the service. The challenge is if a procedure is not covered by your insurance company (or if you are uninsured), you end up paying list price. I can understand 10% to 20% price differential based on volume and other benefits of working with an insurance company but a 10x price difference in my opinion is completely broken.
  • Pre-Pay - You might be delighted to know that your insurance plan pays 100% for your annual exam but the reality is either you or your employer is pre-paying for it as part of the premium irrespective of whether you use it or not. Does it make sense to pre-pay for a service particularly if there is no refund if you don't use the service?
  • Insurance - Insurance part of the plan covers for un-expected illness and injury.
Obvisouly, combining the three products into one product makes it a very complex product. My company is trying to simplify this for potentially buyers (consumers and small businesses) and help them quickly select the right health insurance plan.

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