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Are you saying that people in the US don't get vaccinated already with or without "health insurance"? BTW, the reason that someone can't sell a $20/month insur

Are you saying that people in the US don't get vaccinated already with or without "health insurance"? BTW, the reason that someone can't sell a $20/month insurance policy that gets you the kind of basics you're talking about is b/c it's illegal. By law health insurance plans have to abide by all kinds of rules, one of which is that they must insure against the possibility that you develop a drug problem and all kinds of improbable things. The end result is that even the cheapest health insurance is quite expensive. The problem is that government is already regulating the private market significantly. Add to that the tax loophole that lets employer-provided plan fees be taken from pre-tax income, and you have a set of incentives that have resulted in the mess we're in. Also, top notch care at a level that was very elite in 1990 is now significantly cheaper than it was in 1990. The problem is that the average person wants cutting edge 2007 medicine, which is a lot more expensive. Think about it this way, the more effective healthcare is, the more people will spend on it (not less). As procedures have a higher chance of succeeding, more people will decide to get them (who in the past would have gone to hospice).

Retric 18y ago
Yes, some people don't get vaccinated due to cost issues. (It's a small group for many diseases but they are out there.) What I am saying is the real cost of treating a broken leg is less than what people with or without insurance pay in the US. When you seek treatment the hospital / doctors office does a quick "what are my chances of being paid back" and then they charge you Total Cost of Treatment * Profit / (pay back%). So someone with insurance might pay 500$ * 1.2 / .8 = 750$. But someone without insurance might pay 500$ * 1.2 / .5 = 1200$. Now if relative to the rest of the world our system was cheaper or more effective then I would say stick with it but it's not. At the most basic level Insurance does not lower costs because it does not prevent coverage.

Retric 18y ago

Yes, some people don't get vaccinated due to cost issues. (It's a small group for many diseases but they are out there.) What I am saying is the real cost of treating a broken leg is less than what people with or without insurance pay in the US. When you seek treatment the hospital / doctors office does a quick "what are my chances of being paid back" and then they charge you Total Cost of Treatment * Profit / (pay back%). So someone with insurance might pay 500$ * 1.2 / .8 = 750$. But someone without insurance might pay 500$ * 1.2 / .5 = 1200$. Now if relative to the rest of the world our system was cheaper or more effective then I would say stick with it but it's not. At the most basic level Insurance does not lower costs because it does not prevent coverage.