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> But when it's about getting healthy, the limit to what you'd be willing to spend is what's on your bank account. This sparked an interesting conversation bet
by RiverCrochet 2y ago
> But when it's about getting healthy, the limit to what you'd be willing to spend is what's on your bank account.
This sparked an interesting conversation between me and my half-sister. She said the following:
"Here's a lot of why people are angry - lets say I get a form of cancer that could be cured, but the cost is $200,000. But I'm 19 years old, come from a poor family who can't afford insurance, can't afford insurance myself, and haven't even had a chance to make $20,000 in my life, let alone $200,000.
Now I'm using a 19-year old as an example, but morally the dynamics don't change even if I'm 89 - it's not like I wanted to get cancer.
Talking about economic systems in this type of situation rings very hollow. And it makes people question why they should be a member of such a society or defend it. Capitalism is so great that it must constantly and relentlessly defended with online posts on all platforms."
I don't agree with my half-sister. People died of horrible, curable diseases in communist/socialist regimes as well, and they couldn't really even try to use wealth to improve their situation unless they were corrupt.
I really think the problem is that individuals are just not being capitalistic enough with healthcare. Healthcare companies are publicly traded and you can buy stock in them, and since people always need healthcare, it's a great way to build assets which you can then use to purchase healthcare later. It might even be a good idea to replace social security with government stock purchases in healthcare companies.
- nradov 2y agoMost poor families can afford medical insurance, either through state Medicaid programs or using subsidies available on state exchanges. Overall the USA is at or near the top of countries in terms of 5-year cancer survival rates. We're actually doing better than countries with socialized healthcare systems, although there are problems with access and cost that should be fixed. As an asset class, healthcare companies don't consistently have a higher ROI than any other sector. Regular people should generally diversify their investments with broad index funds rather than making concentrated bets in a single sector.