[ExI] What Makes People Vote Republican

[Emlyn]

2008/9/20 spike <spike66 at att.net>:
>
>
>> ...On Behalf Of Emlyn
>> ...
>> - our family has gotten along just fine without any insurance.
>
> Emlyn you are young as I recall.  Congratulations in any case, and best
> wishes to you and the continuing good health of your family.  {8-]

Well, we've been using the health care system. Two kids via public
hospitals (total direct cost: $0.00). Various emergency room visits,
all that good stuff. We do have to pay for dental, actually, has cost
plenty, it'd be nice if the more basic dental stuff was covered.

I don't know how it'd be if you had a serious illness (eg: cancer), I
have heard some nasty anecdotes, but I'm not sure I trust those.

>
>> I think mandatory insurance is probably a bad idea; it starts
>> to warp the very idea of insurance. Should insurers have to
>> insure bad risk clients, the same as everyone else? Not, I
>> would think. Universal basic healthcare is a job for the
>> government, for sure.
>>
>> --
>> Emlyn
>
> The problem I see with that notion is that it sticks the taxpayer with all
> the bad risks that private industry will not take, but without the option of
> dropping the client.

Yes! Exactly! Who's the client, after all? Us, people!

User pays is a pretty hard philosophy when it comes to health. The
people most able to pay tend to be the least in need, and vice versa.

> That being the case, it seems logical that the
> government would take possession of the health habits of its clients in
> order to protect the bottom line.  We know for instance that diabetes is
> costing a fortune.  The government could decide to tax sugar and corn syrup
> imports to the point where they are uncompetitive with artificial sweeteners
> and domestic sugar, much of which is being made into fuel ethanol.
>
> Actually when I write that, it doesn't sound like such a bad idea.
>
> spike

Well, you can have the spectre of all that, but I'm not sure it
happens in practice. I think, rather, that the government says what it
will and wont cover, firstly, so if you want stuff outside that you're
back to insurance (and that becomes an eternal pain point, to be
sure). Secondly, public  health care isn't a five-star hotel kind of
experience; it's batch mode. It's not fun to be in hospital like that,
but then maybe that's a useful disincentive to abusing the system.

-- 
Emlyn

http://emlynoregan.com - my home
http://point7.wordpress.com - downshifting and ranting
http://speakingoffreedom.blogspot.com - video link feed of great talks
on eCulture