Who knows what horrible, disfiguring thing might happen to you when you walk out the door in the morning?

How can you provide health coverage to your customers--almost a necessity in these times--and not make it worth their while to attempt to understand it all? The fact that it usually takes a third party to help explain policies and rates plans is a testament to how convoluted and overly-complicated things have become. Or better yet, how the insurance industry has allowed them to become.

Think about it. It's hard to make someone pay for something they might not ever need or use. It's hard to make someone conjure up their worst case scenario. People don't want to think about these things. But of course, the absolute truth is that no one knows what can happen from one day to the next. That notion alone makes life seem like such a gamble. Who knows what horrible, disfiguring thing might happen to you when you walk out the door in the morning? Better safe than sorry, right?

That's exactly what the insurance industry feeds on--the fear alone. And they milk it for all it's worth. Sure, they don't phrase it what way, but in the end, that's exactly what they're betting on. They make it seem effortless and worthwhile--and most of all, affordable--but is it really?

In the last eight years or so, I've worked for companies that have group health plans. Every year, that health plan goes through the roof and guess what? Time to switch! Each time this happened, I wondered why it had to be that way. 'What's wrong with sticking with the same company?' I said. The answer I found didn't exactly surprise me. I was told that in order to get a company to sign on with a health package, the broker would cut an extraordinarily low rate with the carrier, making it seem like a bargain. And with any bargain, there's a catch.

After the first year, the costs would jump back to normal (and possibly elevated) rates, causing a giant case of sticker shock. This would force the company to look for another bargain, most likely meaning a change to a new carrier. And then it's headaches all over again.

Effortless? Affordable? That just went right out the window.

The only thing your left with is whether it's all worth it. And that's a highly subjective factor that no one can really decide for you. Except for the companies that the insurance is meant to protect you from.

Sure, you can go the hospital and get an X-ray, but do you really want to pay for that out of your pocket? Health care gets so expensive that you pretty much are required to have insurance to get treated. Or you can go to a government facility and take your chances... Because I'm sure there are millions of people out there without health insurance, I know some of them myself. It can be done. You can get by without it, but at what cost?

Granted, you will spare yourself from having to deal with insurance salesmen, brokers, your HR department, application forms, renewal forms, network directories, plans, packages, rate schedules, deductibles, GAP plans, you name it.

At least there's no headaches...