The most ridiculous thing about this quote to me is the fact that the only reason insurance works is due to the fact that it forces people to pay for other people's healthcare.
If you paid more in premiums and healthcare expenses in a year than you actually got back in covered costs, then you paid for someone else's healthcare.
Likewise, if your covered costs exceeded what you paid in premiums and healthcare expenses, someone else paid for your healthcare.
The fact that the health insurance industry is profitable relies on the fact that the are more people in the former group than there are in the latter. A lot more.
What people like Joe Walsh actually hate is when people are covered but don't (i.e. can't) pay into the same system. These kind of people never look at the bigger picture, which is that denying people coverage keeps them unhealthy, and results in them only being able to seek healthcare in an emergency situation, with the hospitals footing most of the bill (because if you can't afford insurance you probably can't afford to pay back medical debt either). This alone forces healthcare costs up. In addition, if you keep poor people healthy by providing them with healthcare, they will be more capable to work, and perhaps eventually earn enough to contribute back to the system which they were able to use, which will benefit everyone, including the next generation of the poor.
If you paid more in premiums and healthcare expenses in a year than you actually got back in covered costs, then you paid for someone else's healthcare.
Likewise, if your covered costs exceeded what you paid in premiums and healthcare expenses, someone else paid for your healthcare.
The fact that the health insurance industry is profitable relies on the fact that the are more people in the former group than there are in the latter. A lot more.
What people like Joe Walsh actually hate is when people are covered but don't (i.e. can't) pay into the same system. These kind of people never look at the bigger picture, which is that denying people coverage keeps them unhealthy, and results in them only being able to seek healthcare in an emergency situation, with the hospitals footing most of the bill (because if you can't afford insurance you probably can't afford to pay back medical debt either). This alone forces healthcare costs up. In addition, if you keep poor people healthy by providing them with healthcare, they will be more capable to work, and perhaps eventually earn enough to contribute back to the system which they were able to use, which will benefit everyone, including the next generation of the poor.
