H973 - Why Our Health Insurance Costs So Darn Much
As I have discussed in this post, there are 47 coverage mandates for health insurance in North Carolina. That is one big reason that health insurance costs so much. I can’t legally go out and buy a stripped-down policy, or a policy from an out-of-state insurance company, no matter what I want.
My opponent sponsored this bill, that adds yet one more mandate onto this ever-growing heap of mandates. It provides a complex framework that insurance companies have to follow, and that makes it so they MUST cover mental health care with the same coverage as physical medical care. It sounds like such a good idea. Who wants to not have mental health care if they need it?
But here is the other side, which is more important:
What if I don’t want to spend the extra money on mental health coverage, because it is not important to me? I have no liberty to do this. What if mental health coverage adds an extra, say $100 per month to my premium, and I cannot now afford to pay the insurance? When I am without any insurance at all, am I better off knowing that if I could afford it, I would have mandated mental health coverage (along with the full list of 47?)
The answer is that I am NOT better off with the choice that I am given with this and other mandates. I am NOT better off with a choice between a gold-plated program designed by the liberals of the North Carolina Legislature and a choice of no coverage at all. And I do not intend to start a drug habit, treatment of which is also mandated to be covered by this bill.
But the “nanny staters” in the General Assembly disagree. That’s why you need to vote for me.
Subscribe to blog feed.