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> I'd likely be footing the bill for everyone else. You already are. The rates you pay are based on a pooled snapshot of medical usage of all the people that p

> I'd likely be footing the bill for everyone else. You already are. The rates you pay are based on a pooled snapshot of medical usage of all the people that particular insurer has in that demographic. The only difference is that with a gov't plan the pool is larger. EDIT: Actually, I should correct myself. Most government plans have an additional difference - there are no costs based on usage. In a private plan, if you spend everyday at the hospital, you'll feel it in your next premium renewal, with a government plan this isn't always the case, although some countries implement user fees.

goofygrin 19y ago
This is very true. That said, I'd rather be in the pool of healthy, employed people than the unemployed moochers ;)
- run4yourlives 19y ago
  Don't plan on growing old then. :-) The best part about a government plan is that in the grand scheme of things, moochers are a small subset of the picture. It poses problems for sure, like "crowded" emerge rooms, (brackets because the crowds vanish if you have a real issue) but overall the numbers all show that it's cheaper both to the consumer and to the system overall.
  - goofygrin 19y ago
    Like I said our system is screwed up, but getting rid of it is a HUGE ordeal with millions of jobs likely to be cut and a HUGE expense to cut over to it. And in this country, where big pharma and big medical business runs the show (congress, etc.) it is likely that a "universal" healthcare system will result in a crappy, inefficient implementation that everyone will hate.
- mechanical_fish 19y ago
  Look both ways before you cross the street. You're only one car accident away from being disabled for life.
  - goofygrin 19y ago
    And this has 0 impact on the cost of my health insurance. It has a real cost in terms of long term care insurance (which is horrendously expensive, but not what the OP was asking about).

goofygrin 19y ago

This is very true. That said, I'd rather be in the pool of healthy, employed people than the unemployed moochers ;)

run4yourlives 19y ago
Don't plan on growing old then. :-) The best part about a government plan is that in the grand scheme of things, moochers are a small subset of the picture. It poses problems for sure, like "crowded" emerge rooms, (brackets because the crowds vanish if you have a real issue) but overall the numbers all show that it's cheaper both to the consumer and to the system overall.
- goofygrin 19y ago
  Like I said our system is screwed up, but getting rid of it is a HUGE ordeal with millions of jobs likely to be cut and a HUGE expense to cut over to it. And in this country, where big pharma and big medical business runs the show (congress, etc.) it is likely that a "universal" healthcare system will result in a crappy, inefficient implementation that everyone will hate.
mechanical_fish 19y ago
Look both ways before you cross the street. You're only one car accident away from being disabled for life.
- goofygrin 19y ago
  And this has 0 impact on the cost of my health insurance. It has a real cost in terms of long term care insurance (which is horrendously expensive, but not what the OP was asking about).