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It would be a harsh society indeed that didn't protect against some poor choices. You got injured and your insurance lapsed because you forgot to pay it/did not realize you should have it/didn't have the money/got ripped off/made a bad decision/the check was lost in the mail? Starve and die? I've traveled in countries that can be like that and its not a happy place to live. Medieval you might say.



The point you're making is that "starving" is an exaggeration. Which is true -- we have many charities and need-based assistance programs that have nothing to do with employers or insurance, so people don't typically starve in the US and the worst case from not having insurance is actually less bad than the exaggeration of the other poster.


> people don't typically starve in the US

That doesn't make the cost of feeding people who can't afford food any less of an externality.


It does if the charities are no less efficient and no more subject to fraud than the insurance would have been.


You have to decide what happens if for some reason voluntary supports are insufficient or unavailable.




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