It's not enough that health insurance cost so much, insurers have to remind us of this during the Christmas holiday season. It's like they are fiendishly saying, "add this to your holiday shopping list." Secret Santa Gift - $150. Gift for mom - $250. Gift for significant other - $500. Gift for my health (insurance) - $9,500!

I say, if health insurance open enrollment has to occur this time of the year, health plans should be on sale. And, no, not sale as in we are now selling high-priced health plans, but sale as in, discounts for everyone. Not just discounts for the poor (although I'm totally for that) and the employer-sponsored, but health insurance discounts for everyone. And if someone says, there are health insurance discount sales available if you shop wisely and focus on overall costs and not just premiums, I'm putting them on a separate list.

The idea that people who are not eligible for government subsidies to pay for health insurance can afford it if they only shopped wisely, is false. It’s a total cop out by reformers. And where did this idea come from anyway? Just because someone in Washington, no matter how brilliant they may be, decided that the cutoff for individual subsidies was a certain amount does not mean that everyone else can comfortably afford health insurance. They can't.

For the health plan unsubsidized, it's hard to watch others receive such generous gifts. We want in on health plan discounts. We are a market of millions, who without our participation in the market, the health care industry gets nothing. Not even our good risks to balance all the bad. Isn't collecting $5,000 per year in premiums and deductibles better than nothing? Stop trying to squeeze us for $10,000.

We are angry and hurting because we are being forced to cross health insurance off of our holiday shopping list. Ironically, if we do that, we have to add a one-time tax penalty to the list. Think of it as getting a lump of coal (I had to) for not being able to buy yourself an expensive gift.

Meanwhile, for those who do find a way to purchase health insurance without a subsidy, it can seem like the lousiest of gifts. Something you cannot return or even re-gift if you don’t use it. A gift with no real value... Because what good is a gift that costs thousands (in annual premiums) but requires the payment of thousands more (deductible and coinsurance) to use?

It's Not That Kind Of Gift

I know, health insurance is not like other gifts. You are paying for peace of mind. It's a gift you hope you never have to open because if you do, something not too good happened. Well, that sounds like a luxury gift to me. Like those Christmas holiday commercials for luxury cars. All of the people in those adds look so wealthy, and even they get to buy a car on sale during the holidays.

Tags: health insurance