Hear me out on this, please.
Let’s say that I spend $5k on health insurance in a year, but don’t go to the doctor or have any medical issues in that year. Where does my money go? It disappears. I basically just gave away my money, and received nothing in return. However, if I took that $5k and simply put it into a personal savings account instead of giving it away to a health insurance provider - that money stays right there if and whenever I decide to use it. It even collects interest.
I realize that with a health insurance provider, you’re (supposedly) getting discounted rates on medical services - but if your money is just disappearing into thin air if you don’t happen to need those medical services in a given year, are you really saving money? It just seems like a really big scam to me - what am I missing?
The problem is it’s not 5k, it’s like 500k and you won’t save that in time. Some people do what you say and as long as it’s checkups and colds they’re fine, but if they get in an accident and need surgery, they can’t pay the whole bill. Insurance doesn’t pay it either, they negotiate. But the hospital won’t negotiate with you like they will with them. You get full bill.