Sorry to break the news to you, but we've been paying for others all along, including long before the ACA. Look at the size of the amount next to "Charity and uncompensated care" on your local medical facility's financial statement.  Then notice that the facility is still in operation and has been paying its bills.  It doesn't take much to figure out that the rest of us pay more to cover those who received care without insurance or other means to pay. ACA isn't perfect, but with it, more people have access to appropriate care, which fits with the Christian ideal of caring for those less fortunate, and more pay toward their own personal medical care, which fits with the expectation that people should do what they can to support themselves.