Late last year the health-care debate was spiced up even more with a dicey legal question. Can the federal government require Americans to buy health insurance? Our own attorney general, Bill McCollum, is among the inquiring minds who want to know. Legal opinions are all over the board. Some say it’s a function of Congress’ authorized powers to regulate interstate commerce. Others say it’s a private decision; hardly a matter of “commerce.” The constitutional plot will continue to thicken.
But here’s a suggestion. Forget that there’s even a mandatory social security tax, for example. Just leave it at this: If you don’t want to be made to buy health insurance or pay a resultant fine, then simply sign a waiver. It would, in effect, say:
“I choose not to have health insurance. I’m young. I’m healthy. I’m invulnerable. I’m fine with other priorities. But if, by some unimaginably implausible happenstance, I should find myself in dire need of medical assistance and immediate transport to an emergency room, it’s OK to leave me unattended. It wouldn’t be fair to charge the taxpayer, given that I’ve opted out of helping others. That’s my individual right, and I’ll die for it, if necessary.”