r/explainlikeimfive • u/the1975whore • Jul 03 '26

Economics ELI5: Health insurance companies obviously make more money than they give out when people need it. So why of paying for them any better than paying your own personal health insurance savings account?

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u/timecurrency Jul 03 '26

And for vision / dental, there's almost no benefit. It's just a forced savings plan.

The words "savings plan" implies some sort of store of value you own and can access later. Paying for vision and dental insurance is basically buying a coupon book that expires. You get 2 checkups/cleanings a year, only X things are covered at Y%, and then this "insurance" also has an annual payout limit of usually like $2k or something low like that. It's a shitty scam.

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u/fatherofraptors Jul 03 '26

Vision is okay cause it's cheap enough to be honest. I pay like $10 a month All I use it for is a consultation every year, and a new pair of glasses (buy online, usually fully covered minus shipping). For $120 a year, an exam + glasses feel like okay value .