Thank you, Susie, for taking me up on the health insurance debate.

My previous stance was pretty judgmental. I was basically implying that some illnesses aren't your fault (like cystic fibrosis), but that some are (like getting cancer twice by not quitting smoking). The truth is, it's a continuum. Is it someone's fault if they get AIDS? Do the circumstances matter? If so, is it really an insurance company's place to be deciding under what circumstances a person is "at fault" for their illnesses? Slippery slope! Slippery slope!

I'm inclined to think it's possible, but the cost of such an oversight would be tremendous. It would be cheaper to have socialized medicine. Socialized medicine is kind of anti-American, in that it's saying everyone should be treated the same regardless of their circumstances. This is very much a country where you expect to get more when you pay more. But health is tricky because there is so much we don't understand about what causes people to do the things they do. Some people have suicidal tendencies. It's easy for me to say that it's their fault that they tried to kill themselves, but then again I wasn't born with dysfunctional dopamine receptors.

The way France does it, you pay a certain amount in taxes for basic healthcare, and if you're rich and want better care you can pay extra for supplemental insurance. There's a lot less restrictions on the care that people receive, but they don't seem to have runaway medical costs. I'm going to research their method and decide whether or not I like it.

OK, this is way heavier than most of the stuff I get into here... if you came reading for something lighthearted, I apologize. Have a mai tai on me.
:)