that question, even though it's completely irrelevant:

Turns out, you've set up a straw-man argument, where one "makes up a proposition never offered by his/her opponent (usually weaker than the true proposition) and then attacks it as if his opponent had offered that proposition."

In this case, "excessive and unnecessary care" is the culprit: seeking preventive care, which can help reduce costs all the way around, would hardly fall under anyone's definitition of "excessive and unnecessary."

But it's also irrelevant for a much better reason: many of the newer HDHP's have built-in, first-dollar cover for preventive care (meaning that the carrier pays 100%, regardless of whether or not the deductible has been met). I've been working towards moving my HDHP clients to these newer plans as their older ones renew (and where it's to the benefit, of course).

Hope that helps, and again, thanks for reading my post(s)!

Stella makes an interesting point. From a purely economic perspective, it makes sense to pay for what costs less. While I doubt that sick-care (including acute, subacute and chronic care*) can ever cost less than well-care/preventive care, we ought not forget to the consider quality of life (QoL) factor. That is, even if  sick-care were to cost less, who has a better QoL, e.g., Someone with a pacemaker and stents after a heart attack or someone who prevented the heart attack through good diet and exercise, etc.? 

This is why we recommed integrating sick-care with well-care (see http://wellness.wikispaces.com/Tactic+-+Well-Care+Sick-Care+Integration).

* Acute health problems characterized by sudden onset and short duration, which progresses rapidly and require urgent care. An acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and serious accident victim are examples. Subacute health problem distinguished by abrupt onset, but it has longer duration or changes less rapidly than acute problems. Examples include post-operative care, complex wound management, and rehabilitation for stroke.  Chronic health problem of indefinite duration, which may persists with virtually no change over time, or which may lead to complications. Diabetes, depression, congestive heart failure, hepatitis and asthma are examples.

Steve Beller, PhD
http://wellness.wikispaces.com

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