Fairness is the key to the new health care law requiring everyone to purchase health care insurance. The Baltimore Sun article on June 9, "Harsh review for health law," cites questions posed by judges in the 11th U.S. Court of appeals in Atlanta concerning the legitimacy of "telling a private person they are compelled to purchase a product (i.e. health care insurance) in the open market." In the same vein, should we not require persons who drive automobiles to carry liability insurance?
All human beings are subject to illness and accidents that require medical care and hospitalization. What is the fairness in the public paying for their health care through emergency room visits when they do not have health insurance? Under the new law, low income people will be subsidized by the government, which is less expensive than paying for emergency room care. But there is absolutely no fairness to subsidizing those who can afford to pay for medical insurance but refuse to do so.
Rev. David L. Pollitt, Forest Hill