LIG to Solve U.S. High-Deductible Health Insurance Problems

In many young adult's lives in the United States there comes a time when you cannot depend on your parent's insurance to cover for you because you've reached the age limit, so you either have to get your own insurance or not.  Being in my late 20's and "healthy" I choose this low-premium (a low amount of money to pay for my health insurance every month) plan, however in exchange for that I have a high-deductible, which means that if I were to get into an accident or have a sudden illness that requires hospitalization for example, I would be charged with the initial health care costs until I reach a certain limit. From there, I would have to pay a percentage of the total bill while my insurance company takes care of the rest.  

A series of events happened in January where I went to the ER three times. One was in Austria and the other two were in the U.S.  In Austria, I didn’t have to pay a thing because I was provided travel insurance in the country (the health care system over there in Europe is much different than U.S. and I will write a blog about that in time to come).  But in the U.S. I received a pretty hefty bill because the services charged did not reach the amount of money of my deductible for the insurance company to take care of.

Many adults like me and college graduates are having a hard time as it is to find a job and making a stable living for themselves.  In terms of paying for Health Care, it can really screw one over because you may not have enough money to buy insurance or even cover typical medical expenses so choosing the cheapest plan is desirable, but if something happens to you, you have to pay the initial medical costs yourself before the health care company does so. 

We really do not need to spend such hefty amounts of money for healthcare services, especially to the point where families in the United States for example are losing their homes because they don’t have the money. There is a solution that can be implemented to solve this situation, and that is: The Living Income Guaranteed.

If one doesn't have a job and cannot cover health care costs that is no problem because through the Living Income Guaranteed one is allocated an income that can be utilized to pay medical expenses.  Yet keep in mind the LIG will only give a reasonable amount of this income for people who actually need it, and this will be done through a means-test where the person’s income will be calculated according to their living expenses.* Then those with a job would work from at least a minimum wage which will be double the living income rate and thus, one will be provided with a salary that can assist in paying medical bills.  Therefore, once the LIG is set up, the worrying about having to take of medical expenses will lessen dramatically.

I suggest you take a look at what The Living Income Guaranteed by the EqualLife Foundation has to offer. The proposal is definitely one to check out and consider in terms of changing the current world system into one that supports all human life.

*initially any LIG recipients will receive the same sum, and as LIG evolves it will be more tailored according to people's specific needs.

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Please check out the documentary Sicko to see how the American healthcare system operates in contrast with others around the world.



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More Information on Living Income Guaranteed:
The Proposal
Website
Equal Life Foundation 
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