Earlier quoted context omitted.
That doesn't really explain how the healthcare can cost 5x or more. What you've said is that every 5th or 6th person is a free rider (presumably due to laws such as the COBRA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_Omnibus_Budget_Rec... ) ... if that was the source of the added costs, it would suggest they would only be 1.2 or 1.5x higher, not 5x or more.
COBRA doesn't mean you get free healthcare. It means you pay the rate that your employer did, plus a 2% administrative fee. It's better than individual coverage because individual plans are made more expensive to counteract adverse selection (i.e. people who buy plans are sicker than those who don't) but it's not really affordable for someone who just got laid off.
Re: For Medical Tourists, Simple Math
#61Not that part of COBRA - the part where hospitals can't turn away emergency room patients for failure to pay.