X-treme Health Insurance for Extreme Subsets of the Population

"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" always finds a funny way to bring light to things that, though absurd, can pass as completely normal in our society. Take for example Ed Helms's report this week on a new health insurance plan for adults ages 19-29. The plan, ridiculously called Tonik ("with a K," as its marketer says) is offered by Blue Cross of Califorinal and is but one glaring example of the business trend of offering marketing over matter.

In the segement, Helms interviews a Blue Cross associate who proclaims that Tonik is "not your parents insurance plan." It is marketing lines like this, sponsorships of an "X treme" skier, and plan names like "The Thrill-Seeker" all presented on a colorful website, on which Tonik seems to base its appeal. The premise behind it seems to be that young adults find insurance plans too boring to research and read about; they just want something simple.

However, the attracitve simplicity of Tonik unsurprisingly belies any financial or coverage benefits of the plan. For one, the Tonik website only displays the most basic information about the insurance program: copay, deductible, and monthly premium. Secondly, it seems to be a worse deal than a regular old insurance plan: as I found from getting a hypothetical insurance quote online for someone my age who lives in San Francisco, the deductible and insurance premium for a regular Blue Cross of CA plan appears to be less than Tonik's premiums vis-a-vis an even higher deductible. Additionally, as the registered nurse interviewed by Helms in "The Daily Show" segement points out, if you have a "pre-existing condition" (Helms uses the example of ass herpes)-- insurance bureaucratic speak for an ailment or disease--Tonik won't cover you.

Anyway, here's a link to "The Daily Show" videos if you are interested in their humorous take on this absolutely dreadful health insurance scheme. Yet another illustration of why health insurance in our country is so screwed up.