Health Care [New Yorker]

I disagree strongly with Mr. Horner's assertion that society has no interest in protecting people from their own irresponsible behavior (Letters, October 21, 2013)..

I believe that the best analogy to requiring universal health insurance is hat "friends do not let friends drive drunk."

After all, the exemplar cited in Dr. Gawande's article was not the only one to suffer the results of his neglect.

He lost his business: perhaps he had employees who lost their jobs; his state an local government lost the tax revenue they relied on.

He lost his home: the state and locality had to pick up the costs he incurred in the homeless center.

He may have been unable to pay all his medical bills: these costs are thrust o Mr. Horner and me through the increased insurance premiums we paid in order to cover the costs of healthcare for the uninsured.

It seems to me that government does have a compelling interest in this case.

Of course, like Senator Cruz, I enjoyed single payer system in Canada, so I may be biased.



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