Does anyone know why we have dental, vision, and medical insurance instead of just medical? Last I checked eyes and teeth were part of the human body. And if it has something to do with specialties, what about foot insurance, or colon?
I’ve wondered that, too. As near as I can figure, it’s a way of keeping us from realizing how much we are charged for our health services, and how they can hide obscene profits. If they had lumped dental, vision, medical, and pharmaceutical costs together, we’d probably have demanded federal health insurance forty years ago. 
Occam
I think Occam is right. It’s all about the money.
Does anyone know why we have dental, vision, and medical insurance instead of just medical? Last I checked eyes and teeth were part of the human body. And if it has something to do with specialties, what about foot insurance, or colon?They are separate because they started at different times and by different companies. So instead of a rider type thing on your medical insurance it's a separate product. Medical insurance started first, then dental, then vision. They saw a need and filled it, as our move to better health and hygiene became more important other needs were realized and then filled. www.neurosurgical.com/medical_history_and_ethics/history/history_of_health_insurance (.htm) (It wouldn't let me post the direct link) www.ehow.com/about_6647973_history-dental-insurance.html But the money thing Occam. stated is also correct. I wish we would go to socialized medicine/one payer health care.
I just moved back to the US from 6 years in Spain. Spain has completely socialized medicine. The cost is very small for tax payers and the service is very good, but it is not driven by money. The whole thing is very inexpensive for the public, including prescriptions. Your doctor will not make more money by adding unnecessary tests and treatments for things that are not medically needed. His motivation is doing medicine, not making more money.
In the US if you want to keep getting tests and the latest drugs etc. doctors here are happy to charge anything they can to your insurance. The more fastidious you want your healthcare to be, the more money they make. A doctor who is motivated by how much he or she is collecting from insurance companies is not really putting his patients’ well being first. He can’t afford to. Healthcare should be a right, not a commodity.
I did have to deal with a major illness while in Spain and I have to say my care was state of the art and timely.
Does anyone know why we have dental, vision, and medical insurance instead of just medical? Last I checked eyes and teeth were part of the human body. And if it has something to do with specialties, what about foot insurance, or colon?I think this is a little less sinister than everyone is realizing. Health insurance was originally designed only to cover catastrophic losses. It did not cover annual exams for example and large deductibles meant that most simple office visits were not usually covered either. That has evolved over the years as more emphasis has been placed on preventive care so that now many of these things are covered. Dental insurance was separated out because including this would have increased the cost of insurance and maybe made the more important health insurance less affordable and therefor less available. These decisions were made by employers since most insurance was purchased through them. Vision insurance is a bit of a misnomer. Regular health insurance covers eye care ( ophthalmology visits, eye surgery etc). What it doesn't cover is the cost of eyeglasses and contacts. Again this is insurance for something who's cost is not generally catastrophic and therefor not usually an item that requires insurance (Its sort of like buying extended warranties. It doesn't really make financial sense) . The only reason it exists at all is that it is a relatively cheap benefit that employers can offer to make their total employment package more attractive.
Does anyone know why we have dental, vision, and medical insurance instead of just medical? Last I checked eyes and teeth were part of the human body. And if it has something to do with specialties, what about foot insurance, or colon?I think this is a little less sinister than everyone is realizing. Health insurance was originally designed only to cover catastrophic losses. It did not cover annual exams for example and large deductibles meant that most simple office visits were not usually covered either. That has evolved over the years as more emphasis has been placed on preventive care so that now many of these things are covered. Dental insurance was separated out because including this would have increased the cost of insurance and maybe made the more important health insurance less affordable and therefor less available. These decisions were made by employers since most insurance was purchased through them. Vision insurance is a bit of a misnomer. Regular health insurance covers eye care ( ophthalmology visits, eye surgery etc). What it doesn't cover is the cost of eyeglasses and contacts. Again this is insurance for something who's cost is not generally catastrophic and therefor not usually an item that requires insurance (Its sort of like buying extended warranties. It doesn't really make financial sense) . The only reason it exists at all is that it is a relatively cheap benefit that employers can offer to make their total employment package more attractive. That view of vision insurance is like having insurance that covers a limb amputation, but if you want such frippery as a prosthesis, you'll have to pay for it yourself. Lois
That view of vision insurance is like having insurance that covers a limb amputation, but if you want such frippery as a prosthesis, you'll have to pay for it yourself. LoisNot really. We buy insurance to cover catastrophic damage to our car or home but we don't ( or shouldn't) buy insurance to cover new tires or a broken window. insurance is generally a bad deal financially for most things. For every dollar you pay in you will get less than a dollar back and in some cases you get as little as 20 or 30 cents. It makes sense for large catastrophic losses where it could be devastating but for small losses it makes no sense at all. To get your $300 dollar glasses paid for every year you are gong to have to pay at least $301 but more like $500-600 in premiums every year. If that weren't true the insurance company would go out of business because by definition they wouldn't make a profit.