Friendly Facebook Debates on Health Care

I try not to be too outspoken about my political beliefs on Facebook, but I am not shy about politely responding to a friend who is. Below are two discussions I've had in recent days:

Facebook Friend: "No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they become sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day."

Me: "Interesting. I guess someone who does not purchase health insurance before they get sick is at risk of going broke, just like someone who fails to buy homeowners insurance before their house burns down is at risk of going broke, and someone who doesn't buy disability insurance is at risk of going broke if they get disabled and can no longer earn an income, and someone who doesn't buy any life insurance might cause his family to go broke if he dies prematurely.

I'm not sure there is any way around this. Fortunately, we live in a compassionate society and we don't have people dying on the streets because they don't have any money to pay for health care."

Other person: "You know what I like? Paying into a system here in England. It's not perfect, but it's nice to know I don't have to worry about huge bills should I fall and break my leg or get some horrible food poisoning. I hope they work something out in the US soon."

Me: "I don't worry either. I have a contract that I pay for with a private (but overly regulated) insurance company, and I am fairly confident that they will live up to their end of the bargain. They have an incentive to do so, both because they are contractually required to, and they have a reputation that they must protect if they want to keep and attract new customers. I also believe my life insurance, my disability insurance, my homeowners insurance, and my auto insurance will also pay off if and when I need it.

I wish the insurance didn't cost so much, but that's what happens when the insurance companies are mandated to provide me with all kinds of coverage that I don't really need. It also does not help that there are 133,000 pages of health care regulation in the U.S. Federal Register. There are other important reasons health care costs are so out of control, but those also have nothing to do with the free market, because unfortunately we haven't had one in health care for a long time."

And then there is this one. Perhaps not so friendly, but it was all in good fun.

Facebook Friend: "I am hoping that the health care plan Obama's pitching includes a provision whereby anyone protesting against "government health care" loses whatever Medicare or Medicaid coverage they might have."

Me: "Maybe we could have a rule where anyone in favor of government run health care is not allowed to benefit from any medical breakthroughs or other innovations that come from the private sector."