Amy Traub

Letter to the Editor of the Week

On Monday, the New York Times ran an op-ed by President Bush's economic advisor, Alan Hubbard, trying to make a case for the Bush Health Savings Account plan.

At its foundation, Hubbard's point rests on the deeply flawed argument that "health care is expensive because the vast majority of Americans consume it as if it were free." For a lengthy, but lucid and (dare I say?) entertaining refutation of this point, see Malcolm Gladwell's excellent piece in the New Yorker.

Or for a more personal take, check out our letter to the editor of the week.

Amy Khoudari, I salute you.

* * * * * *
April 5, 2005

To the Editor:

As a self-employed, self-insured person, I own one of those expensive high-deductible insurance policies that Allan B. Hubbard seems to think will make Americans healthier.

This is how it works for me.

I put off going to the doctor as long as I can and as often as I can because although my insurance is among the most expensive, it doesn't pay anything for office visits or things like post-operative physical therapy.

So yes, I keep the cost of my own health care low because it's too expensive to pay for things every time I have pain or an illness. I usually self-medicate, and sometimes when the pain is really bad, I just tough it out.

Sometimes I end up going to the doctor, where I pay exorbitantly high fees for the insurance-recommended seven minutes with a physician.

Am I healthier because my medical care is so expensive and covers so little? No, I'm just silent and uncounted when I'm sick. All the while, I hope and pray that I'll be able to hold out another nine years until Medicare can take care of some of the costs.

See, Mr. Hubbard, your plan works just great. The insurance companies get to rake it in, and if I'm not healthier because of it, no one even has to know about it.

Amy S. Khoudari
New York, April 3, 2006

Posted by Amy Traub at April 7, 2006 05:56 PM