Protocols for Insurance to Maintain Privacy

[Tim May]

At 10:52 AM -0700 10/31/97, Fisher Mark wrote:
>>You can improve the situation by purchasing high deductible policies.
>>It is astonishing how quickly the rates fall when you are willing to
>>pay the first few thousand yourself.
>
>This is almost a necessity nowadays, as many employers don't start your
>health coverage until you have been employed for 6 months.  A high
>deductible makes self-insurance (at least for engineers) affordable when
>in-between corporate health insurance policies.

(Personal caveat: I haven't visited a doctor for any reason since 1970, and
that was for a required college physical. Oh, and a 10-minute "physical" in
the late 70s for a life insurance policy, which I later let lapse. Saying
this probably means I'll be hospitalized in the next few months.)

I had an engineer working for me who cheerfully used the company medical
plan for all it was worth. If his kid had a cold, off to the doctor. If his
wife felt feverish, off to the doctor. If he had an upset stomache after
lunch (understandable considering the state of company food and
burrito-vending machines in 1980), off to the doctor.  He may have paid $5
per visit. Of course, he took off a lot of time to make these various treks
to have his kids, himself, and his wife "treated" (given aspirin, told to
drink plenty of fluids, whatever). A nice racket for the hospitals.

If something is made free, people tend to use more of it. This is the
health care crisis in America, and a slightly different one in Canada.
Details vary, but the problems have the same root cause: distortions in
markets.

--Tim May

The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography
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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
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