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0 pointsmypastself2y ago0 comments

This does not necessarily apply to you, but that system could also encourage making reckless dietary choices with the knowledge others would pay the potential bill.

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Broken_Hippo2y ago

Which you do with any health care system. Your health care premiums aren't really based off of your health alone, but of everyone that health care company covers - plus the costs of hospitals and so on. Those costs, too, include folks that didn't make the best choices.

And overall, I'm OK with this. I'd rather help folks when they need it even if they didn't make perfect choices than leave folks suffering - and make sure their kids aren't growing up watching their parent physically suffer because the parent messed up when they was younger.

danparsonson2y ago

You think people might carelessly choose to eat spoiled food because they won't have to foot the medical bill? Have you ever had food poisoning before?? It's not a pleasant experience....

mypastselfOP2y ago

People tend to perform risk-benefit analyses of their actions, even if unconsciously. They also engage in all sorts of risky behavior.

If they determine the benefit of eating something outweighs the risks, they might do it. Reducing the financial part of the equation reduces potential risk. It’s as simple as that.

danparsonson2y ago

I think that's quite a naive and simplistic view of human nature but let's assume it's all true - what's the benefit of food poisoning? Because one either thinks the food is safe to eat or not; why would someone knowingly poison themselves (assuming they expected to survive)? Do you see what I'm saying? Removing the financial risk still leaves the huge health risk - food poisoning can be deadly, and even if not, enormously unpleasant.

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veidr2y ago

I'm just commenting so I can find this again, as it pithily exemplifies a certain type of argument (prevalent here, but also elsewhere) that is also performed unconsciously: the meaningless application of some kind of principle in favor of actual reality.

There are now more than 8 billion people on this planet. And many (though not as many as you might think) billions before that.

Not a single one of them has ever decided, "Fuck it, this might give me 2 days of violent vomiting and involuntarily shitting liquid, but our HEALTH CARE system will cover so WHOO HOO YOLO BABY!!!"

watwut2y ago

Except that somehow Americans are not more healthy nor have less of food poisonings. All that price tag achieves that they afraid of a lot of things that are actually safe.

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Broken_Hippo2y ago

danparsonson2y ago

You think people might carelessly choose to eat spoiled food because they won't have to foot the medical bill? Have you ever had food poisoning before?? It's not a pleasant experience....

mypastselfOP2y ago

People tend to perform risk-benefit analyses of their actions, even if unconsciously. They also engage in all sorts of risky behavior.

If they determine the benefit of eating something outweighs the risks, they might do it. Reducing the financial part of the equation reduces potential risk. It’s as simple as that.

danparsonson2y ago

1 more reply

veidr2y ago

There are now more than 8 billion people on this planet. And many (though not as many as you might think) billions before that.

Not a single one of them has ever decided, "Fuck it, this might give me 2 days of violent vomiting and involuntarily shitting liquid, but our HEALTH CARE system will cover so WHOO HOO YOLO BABY!!!"

watwut2y ago

Except that somehow Americans are not more healthy nor have less of food poisonings. All that price tag achieves that they afraid of a lot of things that are actually safe.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse