Health insurance companies don't like me drinking at restaurants, but they haven't spent an evening with my family.
State and Federal laws and regulations have saved businesses millions of dollars. These same laws are seen as restricting indvidual freedom, liberties and adding excessive cost to manufacturing.
However, it is difficult to argue that the regulation that all cars have seat belts and air bags combined with the law that occupants must wear seat belts has saved health insurance companies millions of dollars in claims. The incidence of potentially fatal and crippling accidents has been significantly reduced. The trade off of driving with out a seat belt and the additional cost of the vehicle air bag has necessarily reduced the expenses to insurance companies.
My, albeit slow, realization of this fact came from a Kaiser Health News article that highlighted some insurers who will not pay emergency room claims if you have been drinking [Insurers Deny ER]. It is legal to drink alcohol if you are 21 in California. I am always pushed a wine list or asked if I want to order a cocktail when seated at a restaurant. Without seat belts, air bags and minimum drinking laws, there is no doubt that the public and private costs of medical services to alcohol related injuries would be higher. The denial of ER claims associated with alcohol would lead one to believe that health insurance companies might be in favor of returning to the days of prohibition.
It is not only public safety laws that help businesses save millions; there are also the public health
Food safety laws restrict your access to raw milk.
laws. The growing interest in the consumption of raw milk has been stymied by food safety laws [Raw Milk Story]. In an effort to eliminate illness and death associated with certain bacteria present in raw milk the government imposed pasteurization requirements. These requirements have not only saved untold millions of dollars in health insurance claims but also law suits to the milk producers. (Although, don’t be surprised if the health insurance companies try to amend plans to exclude covered services for illnesses derived from the consumption of raw milk.)
The cost to implement these public health and safety laws can be burdensome to the affected industries. But for the cost of every regulation, there is a saving that another business realizes and ultimately to our family finances. Collectively, we have all agreed that the restriction of some of our personal freedoms and liberties makes sense from a monetary point of view. From my perspective, I want both the costs and, just as important, the savings emphasized in any public discussion of existing and future government regulations and laws.