Humanitarian dilemma

kw: local events, human nature

The big "health care" bill was "passed" and has been signed by the President. It faces immediate challenge by a number of attorneys general on various constitutional grounds. One prominent objection is that it forces everyone to obtain health insurance, whether they want it or not. I am not too bothered about such "forcing", and even now a bit sympathetic to the impulse, for this reason:

I reported a few weeks ago about visiting a friend who had attempted suicide. He and his wife had no health insurance. The medical bills are piling up, and his poor wife (who may soon be ex-wife) is being held responsible, because he is, naturally, incompetent (he is in the state psychiatric hospital at the moment). How expensive is family health insurance? How many premium payments would it take to cover a $200,000 bill for a month of intensive care?

I don't know if people "should" be forced to obtain it, but I sure wish my friend and his wife had been required or somehow induced to be insured, months ago.