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From: ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems)
Newsgroups: net.motss,net.med
Subject: Re: Politics of AIDS, of Foster Care
Message-ID: <2075@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 3-Oct-85 15:01:38 EDT
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Posted: Thu Oct  3 15:01:38 1985
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> > > > [E. Michael Smith]
> > > > The problem:  Insurance is a form of socialism.  The purpose is to
> > > ---------
> > > [Bill Tanenbaum]
> > > Wrong.  You are correct only if the higher risk subgroup is either
> > > denied coverage completely or assigned to a separate insurance pool.
> ---------
> > [E. Michael Smith]
> > The purpose of
> > insurance is to share cost, on that I think we have agreed.  If all
> > costs were summed, then shared equally, we would have perfect sharing.
> -------
> -- 
> [Bill Tanenbaum]
> I misundersood your use of the term "cost sharing" in your first
> posting.  You use it to mean "sharing the costs equally".  To
> avoid misunderstanding, I will use "cost sharing" in quotes to
> mean what you take it to mean.  
> It is NOT TRUE that "cost sharing", in your usage of the term, is
> the purpose of insurance.  The purpose of insurance for the customer
> is the substitution of a fixed cost for a variable cost.  The underlying

We have a difference in definition of terms and a difference in
what we see as the purpose of insurance.  The difference in terms
can be resolved by searching for common definition; the difference
in the percieved purpose of insurance will not change or go away.
I understand your position, but dissagree.  I assume you feel the same.
End of discussion?
-- 

E. Michael Smith  ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems

This is the obligatory disclaimer of everything. (Including but
not limited to: typos, spelling, diction, logic, and nuclear war)