It could be argued that modern technology created the need for healthcare insurance in the first place: before technology, including new medications, became effective, to go to a hospital was regarded as a death sentence and the wealthy died at home, under the care of their personal physicians. Life spans were shorter, and patent medicines of dubious value were the main ways of treating illnesses. "What we recognize as modern medicine…began in the 1920s. That's when doctors and hospitals, having only during the previous decade learned enough about disease that they could be reliably helpful in treating sick people, began charging more than most individuals could easily pay" (Noah 2007). On a very narrow view of economies of scale, improved personal technology may result in lower costs: but it could also be argued that without computers and cars, it was far easier to live on a subsistence income, many years ago. The better technology becomes, whether for heroic use or for personal monitoring, the more people want to use it. Simply because a young woman can monitor how many steps she wishes to walk during a day does not necessarily mean that she will be complacent when...
Goetz's emphasis on dispassionate logos and his personal responsibility creed of ethos does not take into the fact that pathos or emotion often dictates the healthcare choices individuals make and support.
References
Goetz, Timothy. (2010, March 18). The paradox of technology in healthcare.
The Healthcare Blog. . Retrieved April 22, 2010 at http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2010/03/the-paradox-of-technology-in-healthcare.html
Herszhenhorn, David M. (2010, February 14). Let health insurance cross state lines, some say.
The New York Times. Health Section.
Janhaur, Sanjeep. (2010, March 29). No matter what, we pay for other's bad habits. The New
York Times. Health Section.
Kolata, Gina. (2010, March 30). Health law may do little to help curb unnecessary costs.
The New York Times. Health Section.
Noah, Timothy. (2007, March 13). A short history of health care. Slate.com. Retrieved April 22,
2010 at http://www.slate.com/id/2161736/
