The problem with folks who don't have insurance ... and I was one of them for ten years, not by choice ... is that they do not actually take the risk of that decision on themselves.

If it were the case that someone who elects to deny insurance coverage, like Blue, could be denied treatment they could not afford, then it would be simple. Choose not to take the coverage, the face the consequences if you become ill or injured. That's fair. That's the ulitmate "government out of my business" theory.

However, it is not the case. Uninsured people cannot be denied emergency room treatment. This is why our emergency rooms are clogged with people who have a cold, a rash, a sore throat, a toothache. This is why an apirin costs $45 and a bandaid costs $69 at the hospital ... the people who can afford to pay, usually via their insurance, are paying for the hundred people that day who couldn't pay for their treatment.

It has to be all or nothing ... no insurance, no treatment. Or ... require people to carry insurance if you are going to require hospitals to treat them.