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<p>Your personal life affects more than just yourself. That’s where the government comes in.</p>
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<p>The FDA also bans drugs (and food) that are not safe and/or are ineffective. The equivalent would be to make sure people don’t have limited insurance that could leave others on the hook.</p>
<p>^ To compare it to a more contraversial issue: Gay people’s personal lives affect me, but I still don’t think the government should control them.</p>
<p>Really, every single thing anyone does affects the lives of the other people in society. Do you think there is ANY limit to what the government should control?</p>
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<p>How?
If I marry a woman, it won’t affect you.
If I do something stupid like skydive and break my leg, you will have to pay indirectly if I am not covered by insurance.</p>
<p>@romani: I don’t think females should have to pay for male medical care either, but that’s another issue… If it makes you happier I’ll rephrase:</p>
<p>There is a stastically insignificant chance that I will use that service within the forseeable future.</p>
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How on earth do they affect you?</p>
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<p>orly</p>
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<p>No, there shouldn’t be a limit. You don’t have the right to harm other people just because it falls in a certain special sphere. Obviously if there’s no appreciable harm than the government’s should control the situation through inaction. As is the case in most situations.</p>
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<p>0.0001 * 10 million = 1000</p>
<p>Unlikely things happen.</p>
<p>@romani The most direct effect it would have on me is the increased overhead of legal protection you would require. But I don’t want to turn this into a debate about the possible effects of homosexuals on our society, so I think I’ll cash in one of those chips you use whenever I bring up abortion.</p>
<p>@TCBH: Well, if you believe in a (dare I say it) Big Brother state then you’ll obviously be in favor of this bill and I will also not be able to win you over, since I am basing my arguments on the assumption that people do have some basic rights.</p>
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<p>Yep, so we better all carry epi-pens at all times since a killer bee attack might happen.</p>
<p>Some times the risk is so low that the average cost of protection is much higher than the average cost of going unprotected.</p>
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Show me an estimate of the societal cost resulting from legal expenses of gays who marry from a reputable source, please.</p>
<p>Yes… because making it legal requires a drain on our resources. </p>
<p>The way that interfaith marriage did.
The way that interracial marriage did. </p>
<p>And no, MM, it isn’t the same. I don’t bring up abortion and then choose not to talk about it.</p>
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<p>Ummm…well, you do pay, indirectly, for other peoples’ poor mental health. Depressed employees are usually not the most productive ones, and disorders like ADD and bipolar disorder generally aren’t good for the economy. And yes, these disorders affect tons of people. Don’t assume you’ll never be depressed - and if you ever are depressed, I seriously hope you’ll get treatment.</p>
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<p>Show me a verifiable estimate of the societal cost of people going to emergency rooms and not paying. That way we can compare it to the cost of requiring everyone to carry full insurance.</p>
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<p>Exactly. And the way freedom of choice in health care does.</p>
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<p>Where I come from 80% of depressed people are told to “buck up and quit whining” and they do. The remaining 20% are the ones who actually need help. But regardless, when people get depressed they should pay for treatment. If they can’t, they can get help from charity or from one of the many government programs. And if we think it’s a worthwhile use of our tax dollars we can give those people even more help. But there will be more resouces for the ones who need them if the ones who don’t can make economical choices.</p>
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<a href=“http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/The-Cost-of-Care-for-the-Uninsured-What-Do-We-Spend-Who-Pays-and-What-Would-Full-Coverage-Add-to-Medical-Spending.pdf[/url]”>http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/The-Cost-of-Care-for-the-Uninsured-What-Do-We-Spend-Who-Pays-and-What-Would-Full-Coverage-Add-to-Medical-Spending.pdf</a>
[Hidden</a> cost of the uninsured and underinsured in WA - 11/19/2009 | Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner](<a href=“http://www.insurance.wa.gov/news/2009/11_19_2009.shtml]Hidden”>http://www.insurance.wa.gov/news/2009/11_19_2009.shtml)
[The</a> Economic Costs of the Uninsured: Implications for Business and Government | EBRI](<a href=“http://www.ebri.org/publications/books/index.cfm?fa=eco]The”>http://www.ebri.org/publications/books/index.cfm?fa=eco)</p>
<p>There are a wide variety of other costs associated with our medical system that need to be fixed, but as this legislation does a rather shaky job of fixing them I don’t know if it’s topical to discuss them.</p>
<p>^Thanks, I’ll check those out. I’ve been looking for an accurate view of those numbers.</p>
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<p>BTW, the FDA does this because when people buy drugs (or food) they expect that the drugs actually help the problem they are marketed for, or that the food is actually edible and (for example) that bread has the basic nutrients found in wheat, such as iron.</p>
<p>However, with insurance, people don’t expect any plan they buy to cover everything. If the plan is labeled “Full Coverage” then maybe they do. But people who buy, say, coverage only for emergencies don’t assume that their coverage will also pay for a checkup when they get the common cold.</p>
<p>This legislation will cut physician pay. Medicare is going down by 21% this year and there is NO way physicians will see pay increases. </p>
<p>Sure primary care docs get a 6% raise over 4 years. But given the medical and economic inflation rates, their real income will be demolished. Specialists will be demolished faster. In addition there is no guarantee that Medicare can’t keep cutting pay every 4 years.</p>
<p>Those AMA primary doctors are just the stupid jealous medical school kids who can’t get residencies in radio/ derma/ oncology/ plastics.</p>
<p>I vote how bout we just stop treating the uninsured. Insurance by it’s very nature is a private good, not some public good that we are obligated to provide.</p>
<p>With regards to primary care, this is an excellent article that should be required reading before commenting on the subject:
[Hoover</a> Institution - Policy Review - Primary Care’s Dim Prognosis](<a href=“http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/73711022.html]Hoover”>http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/73711022.html)</p>