Do you need health insurance?

I think health insurance is the biggest scam - and 30% of people are better off without it. Here are my reasons why I discourage insurance:
1. Health insurance schemes have a profit motive. They use your money to make money so they can pay you for any health costs that you MAY incur.
2. Health fund profitability: Health funds control alot of money, which means that they invest in large companies that are liquid enough that the fund can buy & sell without impacting too greatly on the stock price. For security reasons and liquidity reasons they also invest in bonds. For this reason, if you have a good understanding of investments and enjoy it, you can actually make more money than they do. But the big benefit is that if you are healthy, you dont need to pay out any costs
3. Alternative insurance: If you think about it, we confront many types of risks in our life, whether health, car, house insurance, and we all go to private enterprise. But they have a profit motive. I think it makes alot more sense to set up a fund within your own family....extended family if you are not wealthy enough to pay your own way. Try to find an independent custodian for the funds would be my strategy for extended families because there are often favourite siblings and graft. The big benefit is the money stays within the family, and you can share resources like investment ideas.
4. No subsidisation: The problem with insurance is that our risks are not all the same but insurance premiums are within your specific age category. I'm sure laws in each country prevent discrimination by insurance companies, even rational discrimination. The implication is that if you are healthy, you are subsidising unhealthy families, whether they have a genetic disposition or just dont take care of themselves with preventative care. If you subscribe to the idea of 'social harmony' and helping others, maybe you think that, but then again maybe you prefer to decide your own benefactors.
5. Knowing the downside: Its noteworthy that alot of people just dont understand their national insurance scheme, the rules, their options, and for this reason they are not in a position to make reliable judgements about the benefits of insurance. It doesnt help that health insurance schemes are so complex. That in itself is a cost, and not reading the fine print on the contract is a BIG RISK, which is what insurance is intended to protect you from. In some countries the public health system is almost as good as the private system, and in some instances or areas it can even be better. The best way is to monitor the media, but keep those horrid stories in perspective because alot of people are satisfied with their treatment.
6. Knowing your options: We are lead to believe that you are going to be hugely exposed if you dont have health insurance, but there are options. Often you are just subjected to wait lists, sometimes without even discomfort. But I think if you cant get service from a public hospital, you can always pay. If the costs are prohibitive consider going overseas or buying your medicines online (overseas). Medical care in the Philippines or India can be as good or even better than in western countries. The reason is that the best doctors in poor countries are often foreign educated and service a small 'wealthy class'. But I advise you to pay at least to go to one of the top 5 hospitals. Beds might be $40/night. Some western public insurance schemes like Japan include dental. In Australia all taxpayers must pay Medicare, which functions essentially as a tax.
7. Personal diversification: An insurance scheme diversifies people's risks. My suggestion is that you collectivise the risks within the family or among a trusted group of friends, say your college mates, and then internalise the savings. Of course our lives change, so it makes sense to have a cashing out strategy.

Anyone interested in setting up such a scheme or participating in one can contact me.