Insurance and Healthcare

This is a boring topic I know, but my mind does tend to wander...

The philosophy of insurance is the concept of shared risk. It is the idea that there is a low probability of some catastrophic event that would bankrupt its victim. However, by pooling our premiums 100 of us are able to contribute such that when one of faces that dire circumstance, we can all get through it.

I recall being in a poor South America country a few years back when it hit me what the differences intrinsic differences between the first and third worlds are. I'm talking about wealth, but what makes wealth and order possible. One of these were insurance. In America we're fairly protected from everything other than death. Even then we'll likely have some help.

So it pains me when I read an article like this one, detailing how insurance companies are routinely using public information of disenfranchise a huge portion of our population. I actually don't blame the insurance companies because they are only doing what companies do. It's the system that's broken and needs to be seriously fixed.

If I follow the article to it's logical conclusion, the next time I'm in a doctor's office and he says that I really need to take metformin to stay healthy, I just might refuse to because I'm worried that I might be un-insurable 5 years from now.

THIS IS WHY WE NEED HEALTHCARE REFORMS! THE INDUSTRY CANNOT SOLVE THESE THINGS ON ITS OWN!!!