A Critique of Insurance Policy in the United States

The insurance policy in the United States be it auto insurance or health insurance is not among the best policies of the United States. These insurance policies are structured in an oblique way and thus incomprehensible to common people and are unjustly structured as in the case of auto insurance. Almost every state in the US requires automobiles to be insured before they can be driven on the streets. And the way insurance costs are charged is unjust. Similarly, health insurance policies are elusive. Even though 80% of Americans are insured, visiting doctors and buying medicines are exorbitantly expensive and often inaccessible to lower middle class and poor Americans.

George (name changed), is a guy from a lower middle class family and his parents have just managed to buy insurance for him. One day, while playing tennis, he was struck on the eye with a speeding tennis ball. Without any second thought, any person would have reported to the nearest clinic and visited the doctor as soon as possible. Taking into account his economic conditions, he decided he would be better off letting it heal naturally. Sadly, even though he was insured, his insurance did not cover dental care or eye care and a single visit to the doctor would cost his parents several dollars and purchase of medicines another few hundred bucks, maybe. A week later, he realized the pain was persisting and could not decide if he should pay the doctor a visit after all.

Several diseases and afflictions can be prevented if they are reported on time and such hesitations to visit doctors are a common thing among poor Americans. George was uninsured even after being insured. Had his parents not paid several hundred dollars on his insurance, he could very well have used a fraction of that money to visit the doctor and purchase required medicines. What is the point of making people buy insurance and not paying for the doctor’s fees or not providing insurance against eyes or teeth? Eyes and teeth are part of a human body too. If insurance cannot cover the insured when they need it and continue to appear elusive, they should receive reimbursements at the termination of their insurance. Tying arrangements, such as limiting the insurance policy if treated by a certain doctor or at certain hospital, which is very common is unjust and egregious example of monopoly. Having health insurance for Americans is by all means a good policy, but making it elusive, expensive and inaccessible is unjust.

The algorithm to compute the insurance costs for automobiles based on probabilities alone is unjust. Mathematics and economics are at work during such computations but ethics is completely out of work, maybe laid off because it poses obstacles in their profit-oriented calculations. The auto insurance amounts are based on gender, age group and in some cases, marital status. It is unethical to make a 19 year old, unemployed son of a poor family pay the same insurance as that of a kid from an affluent family. Their parents do not pay the same taxes but when it comes to paying auto insurance, such differences are overlooked. Paying several hundred out of few thousands is not the same as paying several hundred from several hundred thousand or maybe several millions. If poor Americans cannot purchase insurances because they are too expensive for them, then the state does not care but it when it comes to auto insurance, it is rendered compulsory irrespective of their economic status. The discrimination here is obvious. It implies that the death of a poor American does not concern some other American or the state, but not having auto insurance for all Americans means Americans are driving on unsafe roads where someone with no auto insurance could bump their cars’ backs from behind and not pay for the damages if do not have an auto insurance. Having auto insurance is not bad, but making it compulsory without taking into account economic situations of the insurance purchasers is unethical.