Do You Really Like Your Health Insurance?

Whenever a poll is taken and people say they like or are satisfied with their health insurance, wouldn’t you like to know exactly what they like about it? According to a Rasmussen Reports poll from August 3rd, 80 percent of those surveyed rated their health insurance coverage as good or excellent. That’s up from 70 percent in May. But we still don’t know why they are so satisfied.

Do they like the affordable premiums or the wide spectrum of coverage? Does their health insurance plan allow them to seek alternative therapies? Are they enamored with their health insurance plan because they truly believe there is nothing better out there for them or their family?

Or do people simply respond “yes” to the question “Do you like your current health insurance plan?” because they don’t want to change. This is a common phenomenon. Resistance is an inevitable response to any major change, and health insurance reform certainly fits the bill. According to organizational change experts Folger and Skarlicki, “organizational change can generate skepticism and resistance in employees [you can substitute health-care consumers], making it sometimes difficult or impossible to implement organizational improvements.”

There is a concept called the rationale for resistance, and it includes a list of how people justify their actions to themselves and to others. Let’s assume people are answering “yes” to the health insurance question because they are resisting change. If we apply the rational for resistance to health insurance, people want to stay where they are because:

* Their current health insurance plan meets their needs, and so they do not feel threatened. People who believe their comfort and security are threatened will seek change, not those who feel safe. This does not mean people have carefully thought this out. People who have employer-provided health insurance could lose their jobs and their insurance tomorrow. People could also contract a serious condition that quickly maxes out their coverage. Or others could discover that they are among the 29 percent of people with health insurance who are underinsured. Unfortunately they discover this when their policy is put to the test.