Health Insurance Double Take

Every year, like clockwork, I gripe over cost of health insurance premiums. Am I paying too much?

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics measures year over year changes in the health care component of the consumer price index (CPI). The monthly health care inflation rate for September, 2025 reflected a 3.28% annual rise. Our perception is that this is a relatively high increase, although in reality the current rate represent is slower annual growth when compared to the past 50 year average rate of 5.09%.

Admittedly, our perceptions of increased health care costs are slightly colored in part by how other CPI components also adjust. We envision a future where costs should remain constant, or even decrease over time.  Even so, I venture we all acutely feel pain of increased health care costs, a price which typically outpaces inflation, and carry a special angst when trying to budget for personal health care.

My wife and I are extremely fortunate that my retirement package included an option to retain our current health insurance at the same employer subsidized level as when working. We have plans for high quality medical, pharmaceutical, dental and vision care. The benefits are worth their weight in gold, especially now that I consider myself only 80% immortal. We also have the option to continue supplemental coverage when Medicare begins.

Our co-payments for pharmaceuticals are a bargain. For example, I pay pennies per pill for medications to control high blood pressure. I am truly humbled when I consider how prescription coverage has given us access to powerful drugs that both extend and improve quality of life and every day health.

Yet I still find myself experiencing premium payment angst, especially when contemplating benefits for dental and vision component coverage.

Consider dental insurance. My father once said, “Ignore your teeth, and you won’t have to.” It was an edict he learned the hard way, having spent the equivalent of my first year’s college education on implants. With that said, the dental work contributed directly to his having an infectious smile during his retirement.

My grandmother never had dental insurance. She had perfect teeth, obvious to anyone who peered into the glass on her bedside night table.

My wife has nearly perfect chompers, requiring only scant fillings while in her youth. Unfortunately, those antique silver fillings recently began to fail, which required two rounds of replacement and one crown. The cost was manageable, but without dental coverage, the price would have been similar to a crown worthy of the House Targaryen.

My view towards vision coverage is best described as myopic. I have a stigmatism that requires exacting lenses. I am prone to mishandling my glasses, and therefore take full advantage of my yearly right of replacement included within our vision insurance plan. I manage this frugally, ordering generic frames and progressive lenses on-line at a cost less than 75 dollars.

My wife’s eyewear taste runs a tad more couture. Her recent annual optometric exam concluded with a significant prescription change. She has never been satisfied with the products supplied through on-line services. Therefore, off we went in search of a brick and mortar supplier. Lori suggested we visit Costco Wholesale, hoping to find a reasonably priced set of frames. She humored me and tried on multiple pairs. It soon became apparent that the only glasses holding her interest were the highball set located in the kitchenware section next to the cutlery.

Next stop was the mall. We visited an eyewear store with a poorly wired, neon logo above the entrance. Ironically, of all possible non-lit letters in the store’s name, it was missing an “I”. Not a good omen. There was a second eyeglass store in the mall, with options better suited to Lori’s tastes. Indeed, there were literally hundreds of frames from which to choose. 60 minutes later we narrowed options to eight frames.

Still too many choices. My vision began to blur. I took pictures of her wearing frames so she could contemplate each pair. She whittled the group to four possibilities, one of which I nixed because of the cost. While our country’s Philadelphian founding father Franklin may have been the inventor of bifocals, I could not fathom paying nearly three Benjamins for frames.

I am color challenged, so we asked the sales person to help pick a final choice. To play it safe, we also texted photos to my daughter. My wife settled on the winning pair when both the sales person and my daughter chose the same frames that Lori also considered her top choice.

Most of the expense for the frames was covered by our vision insurance plan, with additional allowance for accompanying lenses. Even so, my wife chose supplementary options (lightweight, scratch resistant and photochromic lenses) which considerably elevated the final price.  Good thing I am on the low cost blood pressure medication I mentioned earlier.

Reflecting on benefits I receive from health coverage, I should probably “reframe” my insurance premium bellyaching. I should not question whether I receive value for paid insurance premiums; the answer is certainly yes. Rather, I should ask how insurance companies remain viable business entities, especially if everyone takes advantage of benefits like we do.

Jeffrey K. Actor