Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Affluenza

I have often wondered about life insurance, and how they are able to offer the two different rates, non-tobacco and tobacco....who, exactly, will determine that your bladder cancer was due to smoking? And how?

This question cuts to my biggest concern with any nationalized health care system...how does one take into account personal Merikan lifestyle choices? Or should we?

Should we? Should a 46-year old female vegetarian triatheletic Dartmouth educated Volvo driving taxpayer subsidize the triple bypass surgery of a 39-year old 14-oz.-a-day flesh-eating sedentary two-pack-a-day smoking out-of-work recently paroled grade school educated diabetic alcoholic male?

The truth is, we are a nation of overweight, overfed, overentitled, excess-animal-protein laden clowns who deserve every one of the affluenza related diseases we suffer from. How do we rectify this truth with any ability to provide for a baselined nationalized health care system? At what point do lifestyle choices become a factor in what level of health care each of us would be entitled to?

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