-—nonetheless, society is going to face up to the fact that if we are going to spend 35-40% of a person’s lifetime medical expense in the last 6 months or so of their life, that it has to be paid for in current money and that “society” can’t do it for everybody-—
But if you don’t die, it’s not the last six months of life...
That's a good point.
Note, btw, that if you substitute "premium-payers" for "society" into that quote, you're describing the situation as it stands today.
I think a big part of the problem is that most of us don't even pay for most of our own insurance premiums -- our employers pick up a large part of the tab as part of our benefits package. The majority of our medical care is "free" to those of us who are fortunate enough to have good medical coverage.
And as a result, most of us are almost completely ignorant of the true costs of medical care -- all we see is the co-pays, deductibles, and a not uncomfortable deduction from our paycheck every month.
Out on the other end of the situation, the folks at the insurance company who are sending checks to doctors and hospitals, have a fixed pool of money to work with, and they have the corporate bottom line to worry about as well.
The simply cannot pay for everything. And because of that, insurance companies deny coverage all the time, even for treatments that might prolong life for a few months.
Those who are fixated on the word "government" in this debate, are overlooking the fundamental similarity between the dreaded "government death panel" and the actual "death panels" that make decisions for the insurance companies.
There are many very good reasons to oppose government-run health care. A focus on "death panels" is not one of them.