LDSGJA said:
Also, Insurance is not gambling, its the opposite of gambling. Gambling is taking on a risk for chance of reward, insurance is mitigating risk by taking a small but certain loss to avoid a chance of a catastrophic loss.
It's all in how you parse the words I suppose...
I walk into a casino and drop $20 on the roulette table.... I'm using $20 which I may or may not lose at the chance of profiting, say, $1000.
I buy health insurance...
I'm using $1,200 every month, which I may or may not lose, on the chance that I may "profit" $20,000 if I need gall bladder surgery, or $100,000 if I get cancer.
Fact is, the casino/gambler relationship is almost exactly like the insurance/insured relationship.
LDSGJA said:
I tend to agree that generally, a European (IE French) health care system would be better than what we have (costing less than half per capita)
The "cost per capita" hides the real truth.... if you want to spend less on your car, buy a Hyundai instead of a Ferrari, but don't think you're getting the same car for less money.
See where this is going? Spend less, get less. They can not get the same treatment for less money. If it's cheaper because doctors make less money, they end up with doctors that are WORTH less money. If they pay less because the use old MRI machines, they get worse results from the MRIs. If they pay less because they pick and choose who gets what care, or there's a 2 year waiting list for mammograms, people are dying to reduce the cost.... it goes on and on.