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View Full Version : Who Mandates Health Coverage?




MusoSpuso
08-07-2008, 01:28 PM
I've been going over this question for a couple of days after looking at the California budget and seeing how much we bleed off into welfare and k-12 (yet our kids are still some of the dumbest in the nation).

If I go to a doctor and say "hey doc, my arm's broken, here's $50.00 to patch me up", what happens? I don't know for certaint because I've always had the "luxury" of insurance throughout my life either through my parents or my career.

But what stops a doctor from treating me if I don't have insurance? The hospital? Him/herself? The State? The Feds? Why do doctors have to turn away people without insurance? Who mandates that?

micahnelson
08-07-2008, 01:29 PM
If I'm understanding your question correctly- Its like any other business. Fix my car, Make me a pizza, let me borrow a movie...

There are some laws against turning away people who need life saving intervention- but outside of that its just a business.

MusoSpuso
08-07-2008, 02:05 PM
If I'm understanding your question correctly- Its like any other business. Fix my car, Make me a pizza, let me borrow a movie...

There are some laws against turning away people who need life saving intervention- but outside of that its just a business.

But I don't need pizza insurance to buy a pizza or movie insurance to rent/buy/goto a movie.

If the product is "health care" or "fixing my illness", why should/do I need insurance? I'm pretty sure if you went to a hospital and asked for a checkup for cash they'd turn you away or charge a ridiculous price though I'm not 100% certain of that. Any doctors/nurse/hospital workers in the house?

My query is: what precisely is stopping the free market exchange of goods and services with respect to doctor/patient exchanges? (The basis being that it is NOT a free market exchange because health insurance is mandated at some level of beauracracy--doctor/hospital administration/government???)

micahnelson
08-07-2008, 02:19 PM
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/05/health/main610269.shtml

The free market does have a way of injecting sanity back into a situation.