Part 2: Insurers of Last Resort

My second conclusive opinion regarding the whole healthcare deal:

Being charged seven times the base quote for a health insurance policy sucks.

Well, maybe that's more a rant than a conclusive opinion.

But seriously, guys! I'm perfectly happy to pay for all those medications and doctor visits out of pocket! My chronic preexisting condition is pretty darn mild, and inexpensive enough that I'll come nowhere near hitting a moderate deductible anyway. So...could you maybe charge me a bit less than 435 dollars a month? Please? All I'm asking for is basic catastrophic coverage, here: if I get hit by a car, or come down with some super-serious medical condition out of the blue, I don't want to end up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

At this rate, I'm just going to allow economic self-interest to take over, and take advantage of my tax dollars at work. Virtus is getting tired.

If there are other private risk pool options out there, they are crazily obscure things that are NOT well advertised. I have found no churches that offer any. Google has given no results, and neither have any of the healthcare resource pages (and I have looked at a heck of a lot). I have been contacted by at least three different scams, though. And I suppose I can still brave a phone tree or two.

Maybe Hillsdale College can set up an insurance pool for its graduates? :) It would solve all my problems, AND it would be an awesome Hillsdalian answer to Obamacare! Win-win!

Yes, I'm being a bit facetious here. But honestly: in many states, my only options for health insurance would seem to be

a) the federal government
b) the state government
c) a private company required by law to take anyone who applies.

Or I could quit my job, and hit the streets and try to find a job at a company that might eventually offer me health insurance. Or I could marry someone with health insurance. Or I could found my own business, and become eligible to join a risk pool of the self-employed. (I'd have to check up on whether they'd be able to decline me, or charge me higher rates. As I really don't care to quit my job, though, I can't say I've looked into this option very thoroughly).

Personally, the marriage option seems the easiest. I'd just need to find someone with insurance willing to sign a contract and enter a strictly business paperwork relationship. Elderly couples sometimes "officially" divorce to avoid losing their home, so why not try the inverse when it comes to health insurance? :)