In answer to the above question, a lot of people would say no, but even those people would admit to the fact that insurance sure doesn’t seem quite right. Then there are those people who are convinced that the way that insurance operates in America, sure seems, at a minimum, to be unfair, if not an outright scam, as well as the fact that it doesn’t do a good job often enough of taking care of business, when the insured needs that insurance to actually be a substance of strength for them.
Look, insurance in many situations is mandatory or nearly mandatory in America, such as for our auto, our home, or our health, and in any case, in which a given individual is required by law to have insurance, the minimum that this country owes to its own is to robustly regulate the industry so that the profitability of the business is restricted to a certain set modest amount, and in those instances in which annual paid out insurance claims have been lower than expected, rebates should be issued.
The strange thing about insurance, isn’t that it exists but rather that it’s so profitable, in which, for instance, major health insurance companies are making billions upon billions of dollars off of people, which not only doesn’t seem right, but clearly is morally suspect, because for a health insurer to make that type of money, could only be indicative that their primary concern is profit, not people. That is to say, if this nation believes that it’s good for the American people, that health insurance providers are able to make billions off of people’s health issues, that seems to state quite clearly that profit for the few is more important than taking good care of the many.
While it certainly makes sense that we should have insurance to protect what we own, should some adverse event happen to us, the deal as structured clearly favors the insurer at the expense of the insured. Additionally, material things such as homes and cars should not be in the same category as one’s health, which would mean that health insurance shouldn’t be a for-profit industry, because not only does that seem to be unprincipled, but also because the drive behind health insurance should not be about getting that almighty dollar, but rather should be about doing that which is right by those who need good and compassionate healthcare.
Perhaps what insurance needs is far less of a nationwide footprint, and far more usage of a localized insurance, in which a consortium of people and businesses get together, to pool their monies, to thereby bring insurance to the people at a reasonable cost. This would thereby represent something more akin to what credit unions are structured for, and if successfully implemented, would be a very viable alternative to the current insurance situation, which is, quite frankly, a structure that is very, very good for the insurer, and at best, a disappointment to the insured.