Forced to buy insurance

Recently, Republican State Representative Jason Smith was quoted as saying, "People should not be forced to buy insurance of any kind. It should be our choice."

In a perfect world, people would self-insure themselves, saving money so that if their house burned or they injured someone in an automobile accident, they would have funds to replace their home or compensate the victims of their negligence. Most of us do not earn sufficient income to cover all possible catastrophes. So, our government "forces" us to purchase liability automobile insurance to protect victims of our negligence. Financial institutions "force" us to purchase insurance for real estate that is financed by loans from these institutions. This insurance protects our own financial position as well as the financial position of others.

The same is true of health insurance. Millions of uninsured people have been forced to declare bankruptcy when they are unable to pay medical bills. Furthermore, mandatory health insurance has a positive impact on the entire society. Families without health insurance are often forced to rely on emergency room care; it often falls upon the rest of us to pay via higher prices for health care. Also, mandatory insurance that covers routine physical exams and health care leads to a healthier population, which benefits us all.

Human beings do not always make choices that are best for them or for society as a whole; sometimes we must be "forced, to "do the right thing" for ourselves and for our fellow Americans.

Rebecca Summary, Cape Girardeau