Health insurance should be more like car insurance

Health insurance in this country is broken.

Think about it. You have car insurance, you have homeowner's insurance. None of these other insurance policies pay for routine maintenance: your car insurance does not pay for oil changes, tires, or tune-ups, and your homeowner's insurance does not pay for lawn care.

Why, then, should health insurance pay for your routine maintenance?

It shouldn't.

Just like oil changes and new tires, people need intermittent checkups, usually only once yearly (unlike the at least 4 times a year oil changes, yearly registration fees and vehicle inspections), to make sure we are "running optimally."

Health insurance should run like car insurance (or homeowner's insurance): it is there if something catastrophic happens, such as in the case of an illness or hospitalization that would ruin you financially, but it should be up to the individual to pay for routine maintenance.

If you want coverage for routine maintenance or sick visits that are not catastrophic (colds, sore throats, etc), establish a health savings account - many of which can be paid into pre-tax, thereby decreasing your tax burden as well.