There has been a lot of debate happening in the field of health insurance as to how much its importance in a citizen's life should be. The public is divided on various levels and issues, and the same can be said about countries and governments. Digressing too much can also lead to discussions about Karl Marx or the Cold War. But first, let's take a look at the basic meaning of health insurance. In a layman's term, it's a paid service provided to a person to make sure he is covered monetarily in case he has the need to get medical attention due to disease, accidents, etc. The method of payment can be in the form of monthly or yearly premiums, or in some cases, is included as a part of one's taxes.

Now if we look the obvious, we can surely say that it sounds like a good system, as a person who avails of it, does not need to worry about financial issues in trivial times and can surely feel a big burden off of him. In fact, in theory, it's true. That's what health insurance is ideally meant to be. In this modern corporate age, Health Insurance has become a multibillion dollar industry and it has made a lot of money for people who pull the strings in this field. However, looking beyond the obvious we have unfortunately also been witness to companies naturally expecting a huge profit out of this industry and how this is problematic is, it puts the company's annual turnover in front of what's good for the patient for whom insurance money would actually be a life saver. So some sort of state control is needed to make sure that the first priority should always be people, not profit.

Countries which have gladly embraced capitalist economies have unfortunately harboured companies where a health insurance agent actually earns more incentive for rejecting a claim, rather than accepting it - soemthing that is driving health insurance quotes up for people who are "expensive" to these companies. Controversial documentary maker, Michael Moore, in his film "Sicko", has also highlighted issues faced by people who are buried under the complicacies of the corrupt health insurance sector in US. On the other end of the spectrum, countries like Cuba, which otherwise have been ostracised by most other western countries, seem to be doing quite well, as the health sector is directly under state control.

So in conclusion, we can observe that in today's age health insurance plans has become a theoretical boon turned and woven into a blessing for only a handful of people. With some regulations, it can become very beneficial though, and its good points like quick medical service, and hassle free billing, can walk out of the shadows of the grave problematic points it brings along with it. After all, the important thing is the life that can be saved, not the price of the stock of the company which provides the insurance.