What are insurance companies for?

A midwife friend replied to my exasperation at the way the public option has been “sold” as the way to regulate insurance companies, instead of actually regulating insurance companies, by saying, “Why do we need the insurance companies at all? It’s crazy to give our money to somebody who says, OK, now maybe I’ll give SOME of this money to the person you need care from, or maybe I won’t…”

The root problem is still Americans’ refusal to accept the basic tenet of having a society, which is that we ought to take care of each other.

Universal healthcare for all citizens? Don't be silly!