Health Care Is Not Easily Understood

When you walk into a business as a new employee with health insurance, it is easy to become confident that all of your health insurance needs are covered. You have the new job and it guarantees that you have health insurance and that makes you feel safe and secure, but sometimes nothing can be further from the truth. Most people think that if they are insured everything is fine but it is vital to check your policy and make sure everything that can possibly happen is taken care of well in advance or you could find yourself in serious financial debt. The health insurance companies may come across as caring and well-meaning people that want to look out for your best interest, but they are more often looking out for their own financial bottom line.

In order to better understand the way in which health insurance companies work you must first understand the origin of employer based health insurance. Way back during World War II the federal government didn't want soldiers to have to do without so they put a pay freeze on all companies in the United States to stop them from increasing salaries for those people who stayed behind. In an attempt to reward such employees without paying them more, many companies opted for offering employees health insurance benefits at no out of pocket expense to them. This was considered a benefit of employment and one that was much appreciated by those who were employed.

While this indeed was the beginning of the employer based health insurance program it was in no way the end. As the troops returned back to the states more and more companies offered this benefit to them as well and so employer based health insurance benefits were born. Over time workers began to expect and rely on this benefit but the health insurance industry was subject to many changes along the way and many of these changes occurred in the 1980's.

As the health insurance industry continued to grow, so did the cost of malpractice insurance, which has driven many qualified doctors out of the practice. The government turned health insurance into a big business and that chance the climate of health care and changed things altogether. Today the health care industry is complicated with many different types of plans and many people running the show.

When you look at the changes in the health care industry it is easy to see why it is that so many people are living without health insurance benefits. Very likely there will be more changes coming down the road in this industry but hopefully the eventuality of the situation will lead to a customer based health insurance industry once more and will move away from a big business mindset designed to make a profit at the expense of others.