With respect to the uninsured, I managed to find a number for you. According to the US Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p60-223.pdf for those of you who keep asking for links (-:), the number of uninsured in the US as of 2002 was 43.6 million, accounting for 15.2% of the population. Also worth mentioning, that figure is on the rise, up by 2.4 million people from the year before. C'mon, weaponeer, 1 out of every 6 people is not "statistically insignificant." But I'm also curious about the peopel themselves who aren't insured: The demographics. I know that all the time I was in college and even after I got out, insurance was never something I (or any of my unmarried friends) ever gave a single thought to. I didn't think about it until the first time I got a job where health insurance was available. The simple fact is that there are an awful lot of people out there who could get insurance if they wanted it, but simply don't.
Mark
First off, there are many false assumptions out there about this "uninsured" number. Many are, as you state young and not concerned about the insurance. Working at a health insurance company, I know that many just go without insurance, about 85% of those without it chose not to pay for it themselves. There are many who do not carry it on themselves (for whatever reason, they may be between jobs or working at a small business that has chosen not to offer it to employees) but they are covered by their spouse's insurance. The fact that these people have coverage is often left out of that story. Furthermore, the majority of those who do not have it and chose not to buy it are more than able to cover their own normal routine bills. Consider, I get a cold and I go to see my doctor, the office visit costs me $40 to $50 (which is about statistically the norm through most of the U.S.) and I am given a script for an antibiotic. I go pick that up for another $25 to $35 and I'm good to go for most of the rest of the year. This is why people who chose not to buy health insurance at $3,000 plus a year make that choice.
Here poliscistudent's 2% 80% rule comes closer to reality. 5% of the population uses about 90% of the healthcare resources. Interestingly, if you're that sick and you don't have private insurance, the government probably already covers you.
So his solution is to have everyone pay for the health insurance of those who have voluntarily chosen not to buy it themselves?