What is the intent of health insurance risk pooling?

The intent of health insurance risk pooling is to average the healthcare costs across a large population. This principle is fundamental to how health insurance operates. By pooling the health risks of many individuals, insurers spread the financial risk associated with healthcare expenses. The costs incurred by a few high-risk individuals are balanced by the premiums paid by a larger group, including those who are healthier and incur fewer medical expenses. This mechanism allows insurance companies to predict and manage risks better, leading to more stable premiums and ensuring that coverage is viable for everyone within the group.

The other choices do not capture the primary purpose of risk pooling. Increasing premiums for high-risk individuals would contradict the essence of risk pooling, which seeks to moderate costs across the entire population. While covering all medical expenses might be a goal of a comprehensive insurance plan, it is not directly tied to the concept of risk pooling itself. Similarly, keeping deductibles low is a feature of insurance plans but does not directly address the concept of averaging costs among a population.