PNHP

Stand-Up for Simple Health Insurance

In just 90 seconds, this highly entertaining comic conveys the absurd complexity of health insurance out-of-pocket costs. Itā€™s a potent tragi-comic case for affordable, simple health insurance. Finally, the difference between HSAs and FSAs is clear!

ā€œOh my God, like what is going on with the healthcare system?ā€ or onĀ YouTube, 1.5 minute video, April 15, 2025, by Darlene Bereznicki

Comment:

By Jim Kahn, M.D., M.P.H.

Ms. Bereznicki starts her riff with ā€œWhen the Luigi Mangione thing went down, my Canadian friends asked ā€¦ OMG what is going on with the healthcare system?ā€ Thatā€™s the question weā€™re all asking ourselves, all the time. Leave it to a professional comedian to answer to that question so well and amusingly, in just a minute and a half. Maybe she should delivery my health policy talks!

Deductibles, copays, out of pocket maximums, etc ā€“ she quickly covers the gamut. This routine even alerted me to the fundamental difference between HSAs (health savings accounts, which roll over tax-free to retirement*) and FSAs (flexible spending accounts, use them or lose them).

Note theĀ massiveĀ attention to the Instagram video in just five days, and all the supportive comments. (The YouTube video was just uploaded by Ms. Bereznicki, as a favor to HJM readers.)

Why did this resonate so widely? Because weā€™re all fed up with a laughably convoluted and inefficient ā€“ plus unfair and harmful ā€“ set of clunky mechanisms to pay for health care. Ms. Bereznicki and her Canadian friends would agree Iā€™m sure: the US needs a single public payer, with minimal or no cost sharing.

* HSAs are a major gift to the healthy and wealthy, and undercut insurance marketsā€¦

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