Re:The American Economy Is in a Funk, But Not for the Reason...
by zaroth on Monday March 21, 2016 @09:47AM
(#11327997)
Far better off investing the money? No, because sometimes young people do get sick and need insurance, so you can't just invest your early payments, keep the returns for yourself, and skip the insurance, because then you're bankrupt if you lose the "lottery" and get sick at a young age.
Most young people will eventually become old people. It's by definition not a "pyramid scheme" if average total lifetime benefits are designed to equal average total lifetime cost. It seems like you are upset that an insurance policy is acting like an insurance policy should by spreading cost over time and averaging costs across members of the pool?
That medical costs have positive feedback (better more expensive therapies allow patients to go on to have more, better, more expensive therapies) is definitely a huge fiscal challenge. But it's also why young people are more likely to be underpaying now for future benefits they will receive, not overpaying.
Most young people will eventually become old people. It's by definition not a "pyramid scheme" if average total lifetime benefits are designed to equal average total lifetime cost. It seems like you are upset that an insurance policy is acting like an insurance policy should by spreading cost over time and averaging costs across members of the pool?
That medical costs have positive feedback (better more expensive therapies allow patients to go on to have more, better, more expensive therapies) is definitely a huge fiscal challenge. But it's also why young people are more likely to be underpaying now for future benefits they will receive, not overpaying.