It would be interesting to know how many rich people don't pay health insurance at all.

[applegrove]

Because they have enough millions that they could pay or a catastropic illness out of stocks or annual bonus money. Does anyone else know if the rich pay insurance?

[Rage for Order]

1. People of means tend to buy catatrophic policies only

They're covered if they need to spend $3 million on an extended stay in one of the nation's premiere facilities, but they pay out of pocket for every doctor visit, procedure, and prescription that costs less than $5,000 - $10,000

[flamingdem]

2. This happened to someone I know

He had no health insurance for years and then had a heart issue. He was one year short of medicare.. 60,000 plus.. he played poor to get a discount, he is extremely rich but still made a big deal even after having saved on insurance premiums

[BzaDem]

3. I don't know, but my guess is that they probably do (if only because it is easier to get care fast

if you have an insurance card).

You are correct though that from a pure financial standpoint (as opposed to convenience), it probably doesn't matter to them either way.

[DURHAM D]

4. I have a wealthy friend who is 72 and has never enrolled in Medicare.

This past winter she fell on the ice and broke her hand. At the emergency room they freaked out because she wasn't on medicare. It took awhile for them to actually understand that she wanted to write a check, or if necessary, just pay in cash. It actually delayed her treatment.

Now she has a concierge doctor. Well, actually she has more than one.

[unblock]

5. rich people loathe the idea of paying 6 figures for some potential long-term illness

even if they could well afford it.

the very rich tend to get high-deductible, sometimes VERY high-deductible plans.
even a high deductible is noise, but they don't want to have to pay a phone number if they need extended hospitalization and treatment.

part of having a lot of wealth is knowing how to protect it.

[patrice]

6. You tell me: when they're shopping insurers for their businesses or whatever, the insurance sales

management doesn't include some free plans, in order to sweeten the deal and get them to sign on with their company rather than the competition . . . ? Doesn't it make sense that the insurers would do this in order to sign good-sized groups? and then the execs would use those free plans to recruit members of the good-ol'-boy network who will do their corporate bidding and hook the enterprise up with TPB. Do you think this might happen? So, in addition to getting paid a LOT more than rank and file employees, and they could easily pay their own shared premiums for group insurance, they get free insurance too, thus raising the rates for the rest of the group.

[applegrove]

7. I just don't know what the spending habits are for the well off. I live

in Canada and we are all in it together here with public health care. I was just curious if they bother to buy insurance if they work for themselves or don't work or if they can opt out at work. That would go to them being unattached to the middle class in one more way.

[themadstork]

8. My great-grandmother never got insurance

And she wasted pretty much her entire fortune paying hospital bills in cash near the end of her life. Was something she took pride in, I guess.