Tasan wrote:I was using the study as a generality to bolster my point. We are wasting money on malpractice insurance. Insurance rates have continued to climb steadily in the past few years as the actual number and severity of cases brought against doctors has been steadily falling. Again, insurance companies are cash cows who are very good at hiding the fact that their premiums aren't well regulated and more or less don't coincide with actual costs. I realize that wasn't clearly stated anywhere before.
Do you have any information as to how much money this actually represents? I agree that it could certainly have an impact on our policy decisions, should we know how it fits into the picture.
Tasan wrote:Yes, I agree 20 dollars doesn't seem like a lot per capita, but numbers spread out like that never look good. You may want to consider politics with a mindset like that.
I also stated it in absolute terms ($3.6 billion, raised to $5.5 billion after adding in administrative costs). On the contrary, I find it very instructive to reduce to per capita. The U.S. national debt is currently $38,200 per person, rising at a rate of $13 per person per day. Yikes!
Tasan wrote:Also, I don't get the "hard working, intelligent" people jab. I made no effort to "take sides" in any debate. I pointed out something that I didn't want people to forget about.
I was mainly sniping at all the people who have a 'they don't deserve it' mindset around health care. If you don't hold such an opinion, I apologize for using it in reply to your posts specifically.
Tasan wrote:And yes, you proved your point. The study doesn't make a great foundation for an argument. I wasn't about to devote hours to finding information I know most people here won't give a crap about anyhow.
I agree, and hardly think it's worth spending any time on. My facts are pretty much pulled from hitting 'I'm feeling lucky' on Google. On the other hand, facts are really the only thing that (should) sway people's opinions, so they're pretty important. The only reason I'm really posting is because I think proper rationality is a goal that people should cultivate rather than the magical thinking that seems all too rampant here.