Pooling Life Resources

"Am I my brother's keeper?" -- Genesis 4:9

   Old age is a pre-existing condition. Pregnancy can be a pre-existing condition.
   Either can disqualify a new applicant for a medical insurance policy.
   Insurance premiums are calculated on the perceived risk of a person actually needing to use a policy, and this calculation applies whether applying for auto insurance, flood insurance, health insurance or any other type.
   It's certainly appropriate for a company to calculate these risks when determining rates for any type of applicant. Most insurance companies are, after all, in business to make a profit. If an applicant fits the profile of someone who is more likely to claim payment when he or she needs medical care, if follows that the cost of a policy will be higher.
   This is where government steps in with a program such as Medicare. When a person reaches the age of 65, that person is more likely to become sick than an otherwise healthy teenager.
   Old age, then, is a pre-existing condition. To cover the additional risk, it's helpful to have more people in the applicant pool, so the risk can be spread out among many others.
   This principle applies whatever an individual's current status.

   The concept of insurance began with the maritime shipping industry, when shippers would contribute money to a pool before crew and cargo went to sea. Depending on route and season, whether severe storms or pirates might strike and the shipper loses his investment, the premium (cost) of an insurance would vary. In effect, the risk of losing investment in a cargo would be taken up by an insurance company.
   Sound like a gamble? It is. If the ship reaches its destination without incident, the insuror profits. If not, the shipper loses only the amount of the policy cost, rather than the entire value of the cargo.
   The same principle applies to any other type of insurance. If a person stays healthy, that person has lost only the amount of the premium paid to the insurance company. Those without health insurance, however, can be faced with enormous, catastrophic expenses for a serious illness. And if that person is not wealthy, or the family doesn't have the resources to pay high medical expenses, the entire family may go bankrupt.
   The answer, then, is to widen the risk pool, and have more people contribute to the fund whether they are likely to use it or not.
   That is the principle underlying any insurance issue, whether it be for health, shipping, auto accidents, a fire or burglary at a home, or a flood.
   You may never use it. But it's comforting to know it's there.
   Health care is a privilege, not a right, some say.
   But who grants that privilege?
   And in answer to the question of what people did before health insurance became available to low-income families, the reply is simply this:
   They died a lot.