Even though most of the media is still preoccupied with analyzing the bitterness of rural Pennsylvanians and politicians’ friendships with former Sixties radicals, the NYT comes along with an article informing us that health insurers have come up with another way to screw over people who have the gall to get sick. Major insurers like Kaiser have devised a new co-pay tier for expensive drugs that treat life-threatening conditions like cancer or multiple sclerosis. Co-pays for these “Tier 4” drugs can be hundreds of dollars per month. If you don’t have the cash on hand to pay for the co-pay, then you’d better hope that your Visa isn’t maxed out or else it’s no medicine for you.
Isn’t the whole purpose of insurance to spread the risk across a large population so that cost burdens do not fall disproportionately on one person or any group of people? If private companies don’t have the wherewithal to adequately pool risk, then we need to recognize that the time has come for a single-payer solution.
