[sandycove]

A. The two issues are not directly related, in a cause and effect manner.

B. I don't accept your premise.

Nor do I claim any professional expertise. Those are just some observations after some years on the health-care beat and as an employer and as an observer of the pharmaceutical and insurance sectors, and as an ex-pat in a country that offers (an inferior quality of) universal public health care, and a consumer of private health insurance for a family of four that costs the equivalent of some $6,000 a year, who will be grateful for Medicare eligibility soon.

At its most fundamental, I believe the nation, as a whole, has a responsibility to look after the health of its people, regardless of circumstance. I do not believe that access to the system is something a person in the U.S. should have to earn. You could even argue that the health of the nation is an investment in its human capital. It's a proper place for government, although I sympathize with your lack of trust that government will do the job well.