First the ABC, now Medicare. Being sick is not a crime to be punished nor is it a personal choice. It's a misfortune that society should be there to support you when you're in need. Disincentivising people from proactivly seeking basic healthcare is also about the worst thing you can do for public heath. When these people get really sick and require emergency treatment it comes at a far greater cost to society.
What are you talking about? Americans have to pay for their health care, and they're .... oh wait.
David Coles
I think one of the most depressing things I saw in California was in the ER ward (when I did that bad thing with the bread knife...) where they had a sign in English and Spanish saying they would not refuse you treatment even if you could not pay. Took a little while to sink in, but for some people the ER was the first, last and only form of healthcare available (a cost still borne by society, though at a much greater expense than some early preventative treatment).
As for insurance... Even as someone very well covered by my employer, I'm not 100% covered. Plus my coworkers have told me several personal horror stories about just how scary it can be when you find that insurance doesn't cover you as well as you thought...
In short, no, we should NOT be trying to adopt a US style system.
