Nobody is extorted by health insurance companies. That is a lie told by the left in order to gin up their illiterate base. Case in point: Mak!
Its not 'leftist lies', I only had to travel through the free health clinics when I was in Virginia to hear stories from lefties and righties alike over how HIC's treated them like shit after years of loyal payments. Or even just hearing the prices of how much some people pay per month for insurance for their families, or even how some had their HIC refuse to pay for their treatment - which is kinda funny once you think about it, I wonder if I can refuse to pay the HIC for a few months and still expect coverage, the way they can refuse to do their job and still expect payment - and how they got stuck with the crippling hospital bills. Its wrong.
It's not a matter of earning coverage. You pay for coverage. If you can't afford to pay, that doesn't make you less worthy of coverage any more than not being able to afford food makes you unworthy of eating. But this isn't a utopia or a perfect world. We have to have a way of rationing things, and in most cases it's money.
No it is not a utopia or perfect world, but thats no excuse to shrug ones shoulders as loyal, tax-paying citizens are in their time of need. No country in the developed, Western world is perfect, yet we all manage to provide a NHS whether its entirely public (which I wouldn't want) or a blending of public/private measures (which I prefer).
But I'm entitled to you money. Give me half your paycheck.
I'll give you 35%, on the premise that you put it back into the community through public education, fire departments, police officers, hospitals, building roads, paying for a military to defend our borders etc etc, and when I need to call upon these services, such as say if I have to go to hospital cos some arse stole my car and shot me in the process, something thats not my fault, money from that 35% taxes covers it. Sure, I'll hand it over.
If, however, you're just going to keep it for yourself and put it into a private bank account of yours to pay for your fact-finding missions to the Bahamas while you tell me that I'm not entitled to something when I pay my taxes and obey the laws and am a productive citizen of society - whose absense via hospitalisation would hurt said society - then you can lick my white crack.
