Reply #252: "In the long run, we're all dead, " said economist J. M. Keynes.

[CTyankee]

I know I never said that checkups, mandatory or otherwise, would prevent you from getting some bad disease and dying from it. But I have known just too many people for whom early diagnosis of a disease prevented them from dying of THAT disease.

The reality is we are all going to die of something. I'd rather be proactive and do what I can do, rather than sitting back and complaining.

That said, there can never be any such thing as "mandatory checkups" in a free society. This debate has taken on some absurd dimensions. As for your concern re the car accident example, it wouldn't make sense for a universal health care system to deny people urgent care, from a public health perspective. People can be encouraged or incentivized in other ways but not forced into health care. If you don't take the hint and have regular check ups your "penalty" will more likely be worse health, perhaps debilitating, often diminishing your quality of life. You bring the punishment on yourself (also on society in the form of higher health care costs but you would be paying for those costs too, as no one can opt out of paying taxes.

Edwards mis-spoke. He'll drop the unfortunate, and false, term "mandatory." Betcha you won't hear it drop from his lips again!