Again, let’s get the terminology right.

I often read in the media things like this:

The self-employed percussionist and part-time teacher in Chicago pays $140 each month for health insurance. But he’s healthy and so far hasn’t needed it.”

There is a blurring of two terms:

  • Health Insurance = protection from financial ruin due to medical bills
  • Health Management = pre-paid healthcare, preventive services for free, minimizing out of pocket expenses when in need of medical care, denials for certain kinds of healthcare, etc.

Health management is different than health insurance. In fact, “health” reform is not really “health insurance” reform, it’s “health management” mandates.

So from now on we should stop saying “health reform” and switch to saying “health management mandates."