All insurance is socialism.

@whowasthatmaskedman Who wants to wager they'll get cancer!

@Xuan12 Smokers?? I see what you are trying to say and here we have access to "not for profits" that might be considered Socialist. in Health and other insurance areas. But if there is an insurance company with shareholders and a board,making a profit. they are making book.

@whowasthatmaskedman Here's the problem.

If I want to have someone underwrite a policy that covers my damages from getting kicked in the head by a horse-- that's real "insurance". That is gambling against risks. I don't ride horses so it's a good gamble for the underwriter.

But...

Every kid is going to get a sore throat. Everyone will get a cold and flu. Everyone will get routine labs. And then most everyone will get certain things. Pap smears. Pelvic exams. Prostate exams. Lipid and diabetes screening. Vaccines.

What is the gambling there?

@CopperCicada You are absolutely correct. And insurance underwriters use actuaries to set the premium to meet the aggregate of those risks. No one knows how much little Johnny is going to cost in health care in a year. But they can and do calculate how much the kids in each state will cost to within a few cents a head, then add a margin for profit. The wager is yours to take as an individual. Will you be under the average, or over? This is the same principle with all insurance.

@whowasthatmaskedman I guess I disagree.

If I had heart attack or colon cancer insurance, the underwriter could look at lifestyle and family history and manage their risks. And the consumer could respond to their risks to get a lower premium. Or to get the insurance at all.

But "insurance" has ceased to be just that when it is for routine procedures. Or for basic life-sustaining care.

It's like offering "insurance" that provides lower cost for food. Maybe for a python who can eat every six months that's a good investment. But for somebody eating every day-- is that a risk management or a subsidy?

@CopperCicada I think we are talking at cross purposes here. A Govt aid program like Medicade or even Food Stamps is not insurance.

@whowasthatmaskedman No. I'm talking about health insurance as something that's less of a catastrophic contingency and more of a discount on routine and regular services.

I mean, my total premiums are less than the cost of walk-in services for the routine things I use my health care coverage for. And some practitioners don't take people on cash basis. How is that possible?

It means that you are in the "winner" side of the bet. Others pay the same premium, but dont use the service. Unless of course you are in a Govt program like the V.A. program