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You are making the same mistake that so many left-wing people make, which is to say that you are insisting that the harshness and unfairness of life in this world be evened out. Well, it can't be. The truth is that some people just draw the short straw. That is reality. We, as human beings, can work ourselves to the bone trying to assist those who were born with birth defects, genetic illnesses, or whatever, and save those who suffered tragic illnesses, injuries, or other horrors, but we can't change their fate. Looking to a system that was not designed and CANNOT be designed, to right all of the wrongs that befall mankind will only result in destroying that system, and then those who can benefit from that system will be left flailing, while those who cannot benefit from the system will STILL not be helped.

I'll give you a somewhat metaphorical example: some aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act require that all public buildings (which is to say, all buildings, even if privately-owned, that allow public access) MUST have access ramps of a certain height and a certain width and, perhaps, elevators of a certain design when the building is multiple-story, etc etc etc. This was all put into place by well-meaning people who, at least ostensibly, sought to make life better for the disabled. However, the cost of these requirements, which benefit .00000001% of the population, incur a sizeable penalty on the rest of the country when they try to do business, in some cases ruining businesses through the legal liability, without doing ONE SINGLE THING to change the fact that some people are stuck in a freakin' wheelchair, or that they have trouble getting around. So, we present a HUGE financial and legal burden on an entire population in a misguided attempt to alleviate the misfortune of a minority of people who were born with or suffered defects, thereby ensuring a spreading of misery to all without alleviating ONE BIT of misery to those disabled people. They STILL have to use wheelchairs. They STILL can't walk, or climb, or run, or dance, and none of the thousands of government regulations will change that, but now we've placed a burden on the rest of the population in order to say that we're "doing something".

In the same way, you wish to see healthy people suffer because other people suffered misfortune. If they could pay more to ensure that the less fortunate would survive and be happy and normal, maybe it would be worth it, but the truth is that forcing insurers to KNOWINGLY take on the costs for already-sick people would relegate those companies to nothing more than forced charities, soon to be bankrupt and unable to provide any payment for ANYONE, pre-existing condition or not. Thus, NOBODY is covered, and the sick people are still sick.

And you just made the liberal argument for aborting defective babies and death panels. You’re also reinforcing the liberal argument that conservatives only want the rich to live. Only those who can afford to be sick can live.

We can’t afford it, so let them die.

As I said, we’ve entered a strange time in medical development. People who would’ve died at the age of 60 of a heart attack and never touched Social Security or Medicare can now survive another 25 years with medical care. Babies who would’ve died shortly after birth are living complete lifespans. My own son would’ve died ten years ago from diabetes. With medication and a possible kidney transplant in his future, he could live as long as anyone else.

We are not in such desperate straights that we have to kill off the weak.

You’re right. Health INSURANCE isn’t the answer. But letting grandma go because she’s too expensive isn’t the answer either.