[newsworthy]

People will always have the "freedom" to kill themselves with overindulgence and other bad habits, but with that freedom comes responsibility. It seems unfair that responsible people have to pay huge sums for plans that offer negligible preventive care so that the system can afford to pay for the inevitable health crises of gluttons, smokers and drug-users.

[therut]

It is always nice to see a perfect human. Plus are you sure that smaoker cost YOU more money. Lets see they die earlier so You can get more from your SS taxes. I do not think the government needs to be involved at all in health care. Plus if the government did not force private insurance to cover all those every day 100.00 windshields of broken people you might actually pay less------espically if you are a man. You do realize you pay more because the insurance company is forced to cover pap smears, mammograms etc.

[mugs99]

It seems unfair that responsible people have to pay huge sums for plans that offer negligible preventive care so that the system can afford to pay for the inevitable health crises of gluttons, smokers and drug-users

If that is true, the insurance industry should have no problem with opening their books and showing us the proof. Why won't they do that?
.

[TKDietz]

"It seems unfair that responsible people have to pay huge sums for plans that offer negligible preventive care so that the system can afford to pay for the inevitable health crises of gluttons, smokers and drug-users."

Should we then ban overeating, candy, Twinkies, and so on, along with smoking, or should insurance companies just charge higher premiums for people engaging in these activities? Personally, I'd rather just see health insurance providers charge more for people who engage in unhealthy activities. Obviously they won't catch it all and many will get away with leading unhealthy lifestyles while paying no more than people who lead healthy lifestyles, but that's just life. We cannot legislate a completely fair world. And of course, unless you are under court order to have employer sponsored health insurance for some reason you could always just use a private insurance carrier with policies more to your liking or pay your medical costs out of your pocket. I'd prefer that to a government that meddles in every aspect of our lives.

America is looking less and less like a free country everyday, and one thing that really bugs me about that is that people are just allowing that to happen, encouraging it in fact. Instead of fighting for smaller government and less government intrusion in people's lives, so many seem to want the government to control every aspect of their neighbors' lives. To these people all I can say is be careful what you wish for because you just might get it, and odds are you won't like what this country becomes.

[Know your rights]

It seems unfair that responsible people have to pay huge sums for plans that offer negligible preventive care so that the system can afford to pay for the inevitable health crises of gluttons, smokers and drug-users.

Who says you have to? Don't like what the market offers, don't buy insurance.