Jeff Jared (“Obama care communist,” May 12) seems to think that redistribution is “communistic.” Horrors! I remember the same charges being thrown around when Medicare and Medicaid were enacted over 40 years ago, and before that Social Security. Will we undo those arrangements because of atavistic name calling? Whether communism or communistic, insurance is a social contract designed to spread the risk and cost of managing the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune from the less fortunate to the fortunate; as Mr. Jared points out from the unhealthy to the healthy, old to young and so on.

The same principle applies to car insurance, life insurance and the many other kinds. My premiums pay your benefits when you’re down on your luck. Who knows? I could be the next in line for help. Living is a risky business.

We all will grow old, get sick and die. Insuring against the consequences of these eventualities has long been accepted as prudent and fair. Exclusion from such provisions, for one reason or another, is not an acceptable option today, communistic or not. Let’s move forward.

Terry Swaine, Kirkland