I said "unforeseen catastrophic illness or injury" I don't consider an illness or injury that cost me $8,000/month to be catastrophic. Or don't you get it that some people have money in the bank, investments, real property and stacks of gold and silver.
You claim I'm lying because YOU could not survive an 8 grand/month expense. Don't lump me in with yourself. Don't assume that I'm anything like you.
LOL! Doctors don't take gold and silver.
If you've got several million ready to liquidate in case of medical emergency, I'll buy that you are self-insured. I think its fool you'd risk that much money, however, as health insurance should be easily affordable to someone with your financial ability. If I were in your position I would carry a high deductible plan for catastrophic illness or injury to limit my risk exposure. Routine health issues are clearly something you can afford to pay as you need - but why risk millions?
Do you not carry other forms of insurance to protect your assets? Why wouldn't you carry health insurance to do the same? Why needlessly expose your assets to the whims of fate and chance when you can just pay for the risk at a set rate that is tiny compared to what is at risk? The more you can take fate and chance out of your financial equation, the more your financial worth will be under your control rather than the control of chance.
EDIT:
Now, chances are, you'll never suffer a catastrophic health problem and lose millions in the process. You'll probably go through life and that won't happen and in all likelihood you'll be able to say "See Ooopy - I was right. I saved a bunch of money". But there is small chance an expensive health care problem will befall you, and it will cost you millions of dollars. And in that case, I could say "Told you so". but right now - we don't know which of those two probabilities will happen - do we? The future cost of that risk - right now - is unknown - but we can compute an average of that risk (if we were so inclined to do the research) by multiplying the chances of you getting a catastrophic health problem times its cost. That value is essentially what health insurance charges you. Instead of exposing yourself to the risk of paying the higher cost - you simply pay the average cost based on the average of future outcomes - plus a small premium, as the insurance company must profit to exist. Now you have essentially taken control of the future cost - by paying the (approximately) known average cost - instead of allowing the future cost to be determined by factors you do not control. To not pay for the insurance is no different than non-skill based gambling games.
