A new poll from NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health finds that a whopping 59 percent of Americans support punishing people for choosing to not get health insurance.
When asked whether they would support a broad proposal that would require everyone to get coverage, 59 percent said they would support it. Such a proposal would require employers to provide coverage or pay into a pool. The government would help low-income people get coverage, and insurance companies would be required to take anyone who applies. People who don’t get coverage through one of these channels or purchase it themselves would pay a fine.
I can understand the desire to help get everyone covered. It seems to be a good goal (although I generally disagree with the methods proposed), but this is going way to far – and pretty quickly too.
Now we’re seeing a shift. It’s no longer – “let’s help everyone get health insurance” Instead it’s become – “Get health insurance, even if you don’t want to, or we’ll fine you.”
And guess what happens if you don’t pay your fines?
Right. Jailtime.
I don’t have health insurance, and at this point, I don’t want any. I choose to self diagnose and care, and do pretty well with that too.
Ask yourself this:
Should I go to jail for making this choice?
Should I go to prison, because I don’t want to hand my money over to some corporation that “provides”me something that I don’t want?
What next?
Should I be forced to buy a certain car, or some other product or service that the politicians have determined that this disobedient subject must have? Seems to me like that’s nothing more than good old fashioned cronyism – forcing us to give even more of our hard-earned incomes to the corporations that the politicians prefer.
Give it time. I’m sure more such tyranny is coming – all with the cloak of legitimacy that “broad support” gives it.
By the way – where, exactly, in the Constitution, is the federal government given the power to do any of this?
I agree with what you have said. The extreme measures some people wish to take to punish those who don’t want the bother of health insurance are extreme indeed! I started a blog on this very topic called The Health Insurance Myth.
What is happening to this country? Hard to believe that somebody is actually proposing forced purchase of a product in the United States of America. Some free country we’re turning out to be.
Unfortunately the law requires that you be treated in an emergency whether or not you can pay. If you are in a horrible accident, I seriously doubt you’ll tell the doctors to let you die because you can’t pay. Therefore, society will end up picking up the tab for you. It’s reckless and selfish not to have at least some form of insurance for catastrophic situations.
But would I go so far as to fine you? No. I’d make you suffer the natural consequences of your lack of foresight. Too bad our society doesn’t have the balls to do that.
ccr, I agree. if you choose not to get health insurance, then its your gamble, you pay out of pocket or you don’t get treated. Is that cold of course it is.
we are required to have car insurance, not by choice, but because insurance lobbist pushed and pushed.
now lets say I never get into and accident, do my reletives get a big hefty check when I die, for all I didn’t use, but paid in? heck no, it goes to pay for those who choose not to have insurance. I’m still paying for them, so whats changed?
the bank requires insurance for a house, but once you pay it off, you can cancel, but not car insurance, and I can guarantee not health care coverage. I’ll still be paying for someone else to use my money.
I make decent enough money, I pay my bills on time, I’m not late. I can afford an occasional dinner and a movie, but to pay out nearly 300 a month to health insurance I haven’t needed in all my 40 years. not going to happen. I have better uses for that 300 bucks. like saving for a vacation, buying clothes. If I need to see the doc for a physical, I pay up front. I’m healthy, thats not to say that I will remain that way, but my grandmother is 88 and in great health.
so if you don’t want coverage, don’t get it. The goverment shouldn’t be able to make you do it. any more than hospitals have to treat you with out guarantee of payment.