Comment · Tue, July 30, 2013
Stephen Colbert gave a shout-out to Tea Party group FreedomWorks for stepping up its’ efforts against the Affordable Care Act: “Don’t fall for it, young people. You don’t need insurance. You’re gonna be young and healthy forever.”
What they were answering
Jewnadian · 33 points
Well, considering that it has to be done regardless, in that a given national population has to have healthcare whether they pay for it out of pocket, through insurance or through taxes it really doesn't make any sense to ask "is it sustainable" because there isn't any way to not pay it, only different ways to organize the payment. It's like asking if buying food your whole life is sustainable, you really don't have a choice.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb
It absolutely does matter if it is sustainable. To go on your analogy, it would be like forcing everyone to buy food from Whole Foods. Yes everyone is eating. However, the food should not be so damn expensive! The sustainability issue is more from the cost side of healthcare, not the access to it. We need to lower the exorbitant costs in the healthcare industry right now, or it will not be sustainable.
I just had shoulder surgery to fix my AC joint. It cost $40,000 for my 1.5 hour surgery. Now it failed, and I have to do it all over again. So I am going to be close to $100,000 by the time I am done, just for a simple snowboarding accident. The costs are too high to be sustainable.