Saving Money by Not Having Medical Insurance?

This blog today is a bit off topic but I had to write about it.  In the health section of today’s LA Times, J. Duncan Moore, Jr., writes an article called:   Uninsured and Unafraid – a story about not having health insurance.  I tried to find a contact email for him but was unsuccessful so I’ll have to write about it here.

He very elaborately talks about his journey of losing his job, going on Cobra, still being out of  full-time work and deciding not to continue his health care coverage.  He outlines his continued good health and excellent health habits.  I applaud his vigilance with respect to self-care.  In the end of the article he talks about how he has saved $6000 dollars in medical premiums.

I am all for saving money and I agree that health care premiums are way overpriced.  However, one thing Mr. Moore failed to address is accidents.  6 years ago many of you know I was hit by a car on my usual morning bike ride.  In an instant my whole life changed from being a healthy dietitian with a great practice to being in a wheelchair with multiple surgeries and years of PT ahead of me.  My medical bills were about $150,000 in just in a few weeks.  In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined this would have happened to me.  Picture the medical bills I would have had to try to pay for unsuccessfully if I did not have insurance.

I am self-employed and paying $450 dollars a month in medical premiums is never easy.  However, knowing that at any instant someone could take away your health despite your own vigilance is well worth the money.  Most of the time health is in your court.  However, there are rare times when things come in that cannot be controlled.  I would not take the accident back as I learned many things I would not have learned otherwise.  However, I fear what would have happened if I decided not to pay my medical premiums just to save money.