Right. I'm "scaremongering" by explaining the situation faced by many middle class families in the US on a forum for programmers, and I'm personally contributing to more deaths, not the poor healthcare system. Okay.
While it's true you may not lose your house (which I clearly articulated in my previous comment), there's more to life than a house. If you can't drive to work because you no longer have a car, then that's a huge problem. If you're putting your children through school, then suddenly you're jeopardizing their life by seeking to preserve your own unless the doctors know quickly and precisely what's wrong with you.
I don't understand why this is so controversial: People make suboptimal decisions, especially when the choices don't have clear outcomes. Here's some evidence that this actually happens in practice: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8551522
I am similarly perplexed about why this argument is dragging on. This position:
> People make suboptimal decisions, especially when the choices don't have clear outcomes.
Is nuanced and, I think, correct. But your original comment didn't clearly say this (though now that I know your actual position, I'm able to read back and see what you meant). It sounded like you were saying -- like many other people -- that if you don't have insurance in the U.S. you can't get treatment, so you die.
Distinguishing between the two is important because to the extent that the latter view is perpetuated, it is a major reason why people "make suboptimal decisions."
I suspect that you and I have the same views about healthcare in America. I'm simply trying to get you to tighten up your somewhat loose talk about it. Things are bad, but you seem hell bent on making things sound even worse than they are. This impulse itself is harmful for precisely the reason that I and waterlesscloud have now both pointed out to you.
Case in point: did you know that there is also an automobile exemption in Chapter 7 bankruptcy that works similarly to the homestead exemption?
Hm. Actually, I think I love it. I'm going to go out of my way to use the most extreme situations in order to contribute to as many deaths as possible, simply by having conversations on the internet. Bonus points if my rhetoric influences the death of a small malnourished Dachshund. Thank you for pointing out my previously-unknown power over life and death. This is awesome!
You're (by your own admission) using an extreme situation to make a point.
No, the situations aren't extreme. Like I said, people typically live paycheck to paycheck and can't afford trips to the hospital. The fact that someone on HN had direct evidence of this shows us how common the situation actually is. We should choose not to like that, and do something about it through voting.
If you're marching around saying lives will be ruined if you seek treatment
But lives are often ruined when people seek treatment, given that medical bills are the largest single cause of personal bankruptcy in the US. I don't think people get scared of seeking treatment because of the number of people pointing this out, as much as they get scared because of the number of bankruptcies.
If you're marching around saying lives will be ruined if you seek treatment , then YOU, not some other person, are the problem.
Think carefully if the point you imagine you're making is worth that.