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Kaiser's Daily Health Policy Report recently addressed the issues created out of the new "Tier 4" insurance systems, in which sick people who already have health insurance are not only paying their premiums, but paying for their expensive prescription drugs as well.

Tier 4 plans are plans in which members typically pay "between 20% and 33% of the price of the medications," which can amount to thousands of dollars per month. Worse yet, the drugs that cost consumers the most - for everything from MS to cancer to hemophilia - usually don't have generic alternatives, so members either pay the high costs, or do without medications that could save their lives.

Kaiser remarks that such practices mean that "the burden of expensive health care can now affect insured people, too." As if insured people aren't struggling to deal with expensive health care through high health insurance premiums already.

The goal behind Tier 4 plans is that it can keep premiums down for employers, and for healthy people who purchase individual health insurance, since the more expensive costs are filtered down to the sickest people.

But isn't the point of health insurance that it should protect the sick, not punish them? This is why it's best that consumers shop around aggressively for their coverage, especially online, and avoid any policies that include the Tier 4 plan.