(February 19, 2012 at 7:53 am)Tiberius Wrote: The whole point of insurance is so that people don't have to pay those large costs though. Insurance works because everyone likes the thought of a safety net, even if most people won't use it many times in their lifetime. So whilst healthy people are paying their premiums and not having doctor's fees or surgery bills, the insurance company is able to accumulate money and use it to pay for the fees and bills of those that are unhealthy.
Well...that is how it is supposed to happen, but as I understand it your insurance companies are morally bankrupt. I often wonder why Americans don't just stop their insurance en-masse and form their own insurance company based on actual charitable values. I suppose the ever-present government would be against that sort of thing?
I think that Community orientated and ran services ( banks, insurance, etc) would be a good way to go. In the UK, Credit Unions are becoming bigger, because they are customer owned banks that put profits into helping out the local community. If this kind of organisation extended into other areas, it could help put a stop to all the money-grabbing executives that care more about how clean their shoes are than the well-being of customers.
