It is quit obvious that traditional medical insurance is becoming an anachronism. Many that earn higher incomes are opting out of high cost insurance. That is exactly what I did. For the last 17 years I have paid less than $300 a YEAR for my health insurance, but I have a $10,000 deductible. So essentially, I am self-insured. But the money that I have saved in premiums is more than able to pay the $10K, should I ever need traditional medical care. But I carefully follow my own health program and I don't ever anticipate on using it. So the premiums I save go into a savings account and earn interest, rather than to an insurance company.
Unfortunately most Americans could not access catastrophic insurance policies like I had. Many are not aware that the new Medicare Law that President Bush signed into law last week has a provision for medical savings account. Under the new law, consumers will be able to obtain relatively inexpensive health insurance policies with high deductibles combined with savings accounts. The contributions to the accounts will be tax deductible, the money will accumulate year after year tax free, and it can be withdrawn to pay for a variety of medical expenses.
New York Times December 9, 2003