Imagine polling this question: “Someone has been severely injured and they don’t have health insurance. Should the government be responsible for their medical bill?” Ask it a little differently if you like – should the govt or private charity be responsible for them. What do you think the result of that poll would be? My guess is that it would poll in the 75%+ range.
What I’m getting at is the sense I have that most post people have the opinion that catastrophic problems should be taken care of regardless of the ability to pay. This would include severe injury, long-term expensive care (ie, child with cancer requiring long, expensive treatment, and especially end-of-life care).
Any govt bureaucracy involved even in catastrophic health issues will be a problem, but I’m pretty sure that’s what people in this country want. It’s a slope – we live most of our lives on a policy slope – neither all the way to one end or the other. It’s a matter of picking the most reasonable location on that slope.
However, this does not mean we need the government to take care of EVERYTHING! We need health insurance to go back to the concept of “insurance” – protection against unforeseen events. We do not need insurance to cover birth control pills or even annual checkups. These are hardly unforeseen events! And this is one of the many factors that drives up the cost of health insurance. Would you pay for your auto policy to include oil changes – not once you saw the price!
