What Will Your Health Insurance Look Like In 2050?

Health insurance in 2050. Major changes will certainly occur in the next 40 years. But I bet you didn’t realize how much health insurance will change for individuals and families. Here’s a tongue and cheek peek into the future of our health care system.

Obamacare is a distant memory. Defunded and repealed in 2013, the new national health care system is called Krukcare, named after an ex-major league baseball player that devoted his life to reducing health care cost and providing affordable coverage for all Americans.

Krukcare is backed by a law that requires all US citizens to have an annual comprehensive physical examination until age 50. After age 50, examinations are required every three months. Any individual that refuses to undergo a required physical is forcibly sent to a detention camp in Wyoming for 30 days.

Krukcare provides 95% coverage for all approved major medical claims, unscheduled office visits, preventive expenses and prescriptions. Cosmetic surgery is excluded unless the insured is over 70 years old. Any person under age 70 can qualify for free cosmetic benefits only if they can run a mile under six minutes.

The only major exclusion is treatment for Groats Disease, a debilitating condition that is characterized by silliness, delusions and regressive behavior. It afflicts more than 500 persons every century and there is no known cure.

In the year 2050, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) no longer exist. Instead, a popular option is a Personal Retirement Account (PRA) which allows you to withdraw funds tax-free from the account that finances your retirement. Since the average retirement age is 92, you have plenty of time to pay it back. Medicare has been replaced by Medishare, which starts on the second Tuesday following your 92nd birthday.

Although Blue Cross, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare are still in business, the largest health insurance company is now “Green Cross,” a non-profit organization that uses no paper products. The typical Green Cross office has only “virtual” employees, sets their thermostat at 50 degrees and discourages customers from taking showers more than twice per month. Customers that wash their clothes in cold water are given a 25% discount on their health insurance rates.

Since hovercraft have replaced cars as the principal mode of transportation, in 2050, you are accessed a 20% surcharge on your health insurance if you drive a car more than twice per week.

Hovercraft are safer, more fuel efficient and automatically transport you to your destination by simply pressing a button and waiting for the onboard computer to take you to your destination. Occasionally, however, errors are made and instead of reaching Richmond, you end up in Rome.

Primary care physicians (PCP) are no longer used. Instead, the B2-D4 robot coordinates your medical treatment. The robots are provided free by the health insurers and reportedly cut expenses by more than 40%. By emailing your symptoms to the robot, it will determine your best course of action. Every other Thursday, the robots need routine preventive maintenance and medical treatment is not available on those days.

And finally, in 2050, short-term health insurance is available in increments of hours, instead of months. Thus, if you need coverage for a few hours while you are bungee cord jumping, you may purchase a policy. Rates typically are dependent on your age, current health status, and size of your refrigerator.

For example, a healthy 40 year-old male could purchase two hours of catastrophic medical coverage for about 30 cents. Of course, a $50 application fee must also be paid.