Remember that discussion about the people who were profiting from fire departments that they hadn't paid for, and the discussion of whether such people's houses should be saved?

This has its similarities to that - nobody would defend letting people without health insurance die, but if people know they'll get health care when they urgently need it anyway, they have a disincentive to invest in health insurance, except when the choice simply isn't left up to them. Much like in most cities, people don't have a choice about paying for the fire department or not.