. . . cost sharing is “a blunt instrument.”
Interesting piece by Malcolm Gladwell on health insurance. I found the emphasis in dental insurance — and how people cope without it — to be pretty painful stuff. I have noticed the looks one gets when you’re missing a top front tooth, and am glad I am not looking for work right now (imagine applying for a knowledge worker or technical position and missing out on due to an inability to eat a crisp apple).
I have heard the phrase “moral hazard” before but had never heard the explanation before. Sounds like more tired Puritanism, where we refuse to extend a benefit to everyone lest someone somewhere malinger and abuse our collective good nature.
Reading this with the backdrop of New Orleans, post-Katrina, in my mind makes me wonder what people think of themselves and their fellow men: do we really dislike or mistrust each other that much?
[composed and posted with ecto]