Quote:And, for some, disease is self inflicted, so what about personal responsibility?Is that it? As soon as some disease has a personal responsibility issue, that invalidates the public option? What about the opposite argument, which strikes me as much stronger: most disease is *not* self-inflicted, and yet people suffer from it anyway. Often, they're even inflicted by other people. For instance, the anti-vax crowd is slowly wearing away at herd immunity. If child A catches a crippling disease because child B's parents refused to vaccinate, who pays for that, how much, and why?
Cover everyone equally, and you gain fairness and simplicity. Whatever the illness, whatever your situation, you have access to quality medical care without negotiation or worry. In pretty much all countries that have such systems they are very popular, which is certainly more than can be said about the current US system. They also cost a whole lot less.
If we leave it to the insurance company actuaries, it'll all just be down to statistics: if you belong to a high-risk group, for whatever reason, you're going to pay out the nose, whether it's totally your fault, partially your fault, or not your fault at all.
As for healthy eating and exercise, surely the government has no business whatsoever telling me what I can eat and how I spend my leisure time?
-Jester