The current debate over health insurance revolves around the question of how health care will be provided for people who cannot afford to pay for it, writes Edward Pease. Like most Americans who are not poor, I simply assume that, one way or another, I will end up paying for my own care, leaving politicians and lobbyists free to add — without any input from me — a still-to-be-determined something-or-other to the bill for themselves and the health care of nonpayers.
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Health care reform isn't simply about charity. Many insured working-age people get their coverage through their employer, subsidized through the tax code. Many on the right and the left agree this is inefficient. And as health care costs increase, and labor market flexibility becomes more important, we have greater need for a functioning individual and small-group insurance market.
You might spare a thought for people beyond your immediate family circle. You might spare a thought for what's best system for people who can't afford health care under the present system. You may be one of them someday, or your children may. After all, a great many people who now find themselves in financial straits were once as comfortably off as you are now. They never imagined that their lives could take such a dramatic turn for the worse. There but for the grace of God goes you.