From Car Insurance to Health Insurance – Highly Unlikely

By
Published:

President Obama’s convictions on health care coverage to be treated like car insurance are very strong and the sentiments of his followers are becoming equally strong as well. The President suggests that health insurance should be treated just like car insurance, where state requirements mandate drivers to take out insurance in order to drive their cars. If health insurance would be treated like car insurance, then there should be state requirements mandating citizens to take out health insurance as well.

From Car Insurance to Health Insurance – Highly UnlikelyHowever, there are still a lot of people who say that the analogy between health insurance and car insurance does not work quite well at all – and this has legal backing. According to the Constitution, the federal government does not have the power or the responsibility to require citizens to take out health care insurance. This bout is not found anywhere in Article I, Section VIII of the Constitution, nor is it found in any of the subsequent amendments. The decision to get health care coverage then falls on the people, as per the 10th Amendment, stating, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

In spite of the differences found between car insurance and health insurance, there are still some areas where car insurance can contribute a thing or two to health care reform. For instance, in terms of portability, you control your own car insurance policy. No one else controls it, not even the government or your employer. If you decide to change jobs or move to another state, you can still keep your insurance provider. But with health care insurance providers, there are government policies that prohibit them from selling insurance policies across the state boundaries. If health insurance should be mandated just like car insurance, then portability should be implemented as well.

Policyholders who exhibit responsible behavior, in the form of prompt payments, are often rewarded by car insurance providers with discounts. However, with health insurance, policyholders who take good care of their bodies are not rewarded with any form of incentive at all. This should also be taken into consideration, if the Constitution makes changes to its amendments and go with the President’s stand on mandating health insurance, just like with car insurance.

These are just some of the points worthy to bring up. The health care insurance arena is far from being the typical one size fits all. If this would be likened to car insurance, then customizable options should also be provided.