Nobody wants to pay healthcare bills, Quinn says he knows why.

You are planning to get another tattoo, it costs $200.

You are going to take your best friend out for fine dining, it will cost $175.

You promised your children to take them to a local theme park, $200.

You receive a bill from your doctor because you hadn’t met your deductible, $200.

Which expense is unaffordable?

Okay, a bit of a trick question, but there is no doubt the answer is nearly always the medical expense is unaffordable. That’s because we have been conditioned (since around 1943 when health insurance took off) to believe medical bills should be paid by insurance – actually meaning anyone but ourselves.

Years ago I had an encounter with an employee’s wife who was incensed that our health plan would not cover Lyme disease vaccinations for her teenagers. She claimed her children were at risk and could die without the vaccine. I said she could always pay herself – $60 at the time. 

Boy, was that a mistake! She screamed, “You expect me to pay with my own money?” Remember, “could die”

This story may be anecdotal, but from years of experience, not an unusual attitude. How many times have you heard someone complain about paying a deductible – even before they were in the thousands? Have you ever heard complaining about a $35 prescription co-pay? How about a $35 dozen of golf balls? 

Think about this. The law says all forms of contraception must be free. Generally not expensive, often a voluntary purchase, but our mindset says it is unaffordable under all conditions – so they are “free.” Of course we know they are not free, the cost is buried in everyone’s premiums and taxes.

I was in the supermarket recently near the pharmacy. I women was arguing because a script was not covered by her plan. The pharmacist told her the cost with a discount card was $33.00. I’m not paying that, she said. Her shopping cart contained more than $33.00 worth of soda and junk food, including frozen White Castle hamburgers – which motivated me to buy some myself – I digress. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am not exempt from these feelings. I don’t want to pay a penny out of pocket on health care either.

The idea we should not pay for our health goes beyond actual care. Consider this comment I was sent. “If I paid into Medicare for my whole career, why am I having to pay $175 a month for Medicare after retiring? Someone please explain this to me.”

How about the move nationally and among states to exclude medical debt on credit reports? In NJ. a new law greatly restricts the ability for creditors to collect medical debt, thus providing another incentive not to pay. If you owe $400, you owe $400, right? Apparently not. 

Our collective attitude toward paying for health care is one of the drivers of high health care costs. We want someone else to pay and when they do we don’t care how much – well maybe when our premiums increase, but most people don’t even make that connection. 

There is always something to buy with our limited dollars that gives us pleasure, but not health care which most often is not pleasurable, but nevertheless a highly valuable purchase.  

The bottom line? Most Americans would prefer to have all their health care costs buried in taxes and that way health care will be “free.” Maybe someday we will all realize that.