Insurance Co-ops: Private And National

I find it very interesting that the news media is finally talking about the co-op option. Odly enough they are saying there are no examples to show it works. Hm mm

• The North East Florida Real Estate Association (NEFAR) had a co-op for a few years. If you were a member you could belong, and enroll your family. It was negotiated by a local insurance agent with an insurance company called Well Care. It was excellent.
  1. No pre-existing conditions applied
  2. Very affordable since there were many members involved
  3. The doctors liked and accepted Well Care because they were good about paying.
  Government regulation put a stop to it though.
• You might also recall me telling you how small business owners use to be able to pool together in a large group to do similarly
• The North East Florida Builders Association also once had one before regulations put a stop to that as well.

These programs worked so well that I tried many times to find one again. Eventually I asked a local agent why it was so impossible to find. His reply: "There were people joining them who were not members." Hm mm....who was so concerned about that?

The consideration today, of course, is a government run program rather than private ones as the above examples. Have you ever called the IRS? Well, that is what it is like to call Medicare. I much prefer calling my local agent as I can easily fire him if he does a poor job.

Personal Story: Health Insurance

As business owners My husband and I had company insurance. Medical insurance for employees is more expensive for the small company than for large corporations. If the small business has anyone on the plan with pre-existing conditions the cost is driven higher for every employee on that plan. For the large companies that is not the case. True the larger the pool the more costs are absorbed.

However, at one time, small business owners could unite to create a large pool. Regulations no longer permit that. (I do not know if it is due to State regulations, Federal regulations, or both)

Solution: Allow co-ops. As citizens we should be allowed to unite, and create non-profit insurance pools independent of business if we so choose...like through Churches, professions and other organizations. We should also be allowed to cross State lines to do so

Simple solutions such as this are far less complicated, they are constitutionally legal (Federally run health care is not legal as per the U.S. Constitution), and there is less chance of pork (a nice word for theft) than with the Federal Government's thousand plus pages that no one can read.

There is no need for protesters to holler or disrupt meetings. The law and common sense are on their side.