HEALTH INSURANCE Saturday 20th February

The Minister for Health is allowing medical insurance premiums to rise by 6% this coming year, following a 5% increase last year. How bad is that? Inflation is running at about 2.5%.

Now, why the hell is the Minister for Health involved in the setting of insurance fees? Surely it's up to the industry to set it's own fees.

What you're seeing her is the collision of a number of factors.

1. The medical insurance industry is protected. It's become bloated and uncompetitive.

2. It is not an insurance industry. It is illegal to rate premiums against risk. The companies are acting as escrow agents - an interface between the consumer and the provider of medical services. The more they dole out to the medical industry this year the more they'll collect from mug premium holders next year.

3. Everyone who is a member of a health funds considers it a right to take more out than they paid in.

4. The cost of some procedures is rapacious - anything dental, radiological or surgical.

5. The medical industry keeps raising it's prices because it's a government supported monopoly and because its protected. That protection now extends to the insurance industry. It's all very cosy. The consumer is the loser on all counts. The higher the insurance costs the more doctors are inclined t0o put up their fees. The higher the doctors' fees the higher the insurance costs. The medical and insurance industry are chasing their own tails in an ever upward spiral.

The mug consumer is the looser. A system originally designed to help the consumer is running out of control.

6. And to top it all off, if you don't pay the insurance you can go to a public hospital for free.

How stupid must the Minister for Health be to put up with that nonsense.

On the track
A very hard workout. 60 minutes on the stepper., all over level 8. 1210 steps and 9124 calories.

Then a good strength workout in the gym.

In then meantime don't worry about staying tuned, highly tuned and don't waste time, effort and money keeping yourself fit and healthy; you pay the same health insurance as the fat and lazy!

John Miller
http://www.fitandhealthyonline.com/