Opinion on the insurance paying side of healthcare debate, page 1

reply to post by rockhndr

In your scenario, why did person B get a free bandage? Why not let persons A and B walk out of the hospital, go to the corner drugstore, and buy a box of bandages. I know that wasn't the point of your example, but the analogy is still the same. Instead of wondering why person A has to pay double to make up for person B, we should be wondering why medical costs are so high to begin with.

Let me say a little something about insurance. The insurance industry is run like a Vegas casino. They calculate the odds, then they adjust the premium (bet) to payout ratio to guarantee that they make a profit in the long run. I don't know the figures, but for the sake of argument lets just say a casino does the numbers and figures they can make a 4% profit in the long run. That being the case, they more people come in and gamble, the more money they make. They may have to pay out some big winners, but, like they say, Vegas was built by losers.

The main difference between casinos and insurance companies is that insurance companies have bought off enough lawmakers to have laws made that force people to buy insurance. Auto insurance is a good example. Insurance fraud is another example of insurance companies control over lawmakers. If an insurance company refuses to pay a legitimate claim, you have to haire a lawyer out of your own pocket and take them to court. If you defraud an insurance company, the government comes after you. Another good example are seat belt laws. The insurance companies benefit from those by way of lesser injuries, smaller payouts. Does the government really benefit by forcing you to wear a seat belt? Would we think it acceptable for the government to force you to gamble at a casino? Or force you to buy lottery tickets?

The way I see it, the whole problem with health care in this country today is the insurance industry. They make billions, if not trillions, in profits each year. That's PROFITS. That's money they took in premiums, but did not pay out in benefits. Now add to that the money they pay out in benefits, and the overhead costs, salaries, etc. If health insurance was outlawed, all that money would be available to people to pay their own health care. It would also drive health care costs down. Hospitals that charge $10 for an aspirin would not stay in business in a free market system of health care. They can get away with that sort of thing now because there are so many layers between the patient and the hospital, the hospital knows the insurance companies will pay it, and the patient is glad that he's not paying it (or so he thinks).

I'm self employed. I had health insurance. In the beginning, it cost me about $130 a month. Every year it went up, even though there was no significant change in the number of times I went to the doctor. A couple years ago, my monthly insurance premium went up to $230 a month. That's when I let it go. I figured that it was a whole lot cheaper for me to just pay my medical expenses out of my own pocket. That was my choice, to do what I felt was in my own best interests. Kind of a "pusuit of happiness" thing. It would sure be nice to live in a country where people are allowed to make choices for themselves. Are there any countries like that left in the world?