CDR: Re: why should it be trusted?

matthew gream matthewgream at hotmail.com
Mon Oct 23 05:24:36 PDT 2000


Nathan Saper wrote:

>>and Sambo A. S. seem to miss, is that increased costs for a few mean 
>>*savings* for everyone else.
>
>The costs for the few would rise much more than the savings for the
>many.  Therefore, the number of people with genetic abnormalities who
>could not afford insurance would rise, while the number of genetically
>normal people who could afford insurance would not be altered
>drastically.

Isn't this one of the key points of the whole issue: where does the balance 
lie ?

One the one hand, individuals should have the freedom to live as they 
please, so long as it does not affect (too much) the way other people choose 
to live. If you desire to live an unhealthy lifestyle, that is fine, so long 
as you live with the consequences - i.e. higher insurance premiums. I choose 
to live a healthy lifestyle, therefore I would expect to pay less in 
insurance premiums. On the other hand, I do not mind cross subsidising the 
rest of society to a certain extent, in order to stop everything falling 
apart, and to generally know that there is some safety for "my way of life", 
and to enjoy some common things for everyone.

Certainly, I find it irritating that I should pay excessive costs to support 
a health care system that largely caters to supporting the many people that 
have chosen to drink or live their way to an unhealthy later life. Though, I 
am not sure I want to deny these people treatment because of the social 
carnage and damage to humanity it will cause, and perhaps twenty years ago, 
people were less enlightened about the possibility of making these choices.

So perhaps the thing is - how do you list all the pros and cons and costs 
and everything else, then find an acceptable balance that is liberal "user 
pays", but has a safety net (i.e. you will not suffer, but you probably 
won't have a high quality life).

Best regards,
Matthew.


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