Seriously Tim, you can't be such a jerk that you don't think that's a step forward in our society.
It may be a step forward in terms of compassion in the short term. Ya gotta feel sorry for folks who get sick and then can't get coverage. You are, indeed, a jerk if you don't.
But you're a dope if you don't see that the compassion is short-term feel-good. Long term, it diminishes the system and everybody who participates, including those with pre-existing condition. That's about a dumb as eating your seed corn, which feels good If we want to take that step forward in compassion, then we should help those who need it with charity, either private or public. Don't take the risk basis out of insurance. Or, if we do, at least have the perspicacity and intellectual integrity to recognize that it's no longer insurance and quit calling it that. It's a different paradigm.
Compassion is not the only factor upon which to judge a system. Effectiveness, robustness, cost-effectiveness, etc. matter at least as much. Recognizing that does not make one a jerk. |
