For the past three weeks, hospitals in Florida have been treating critically injured Haitians as part of this country's swift response to the earthquake that all but destroyed much of Port-au-Prince on January 12th. Roughly 500 men, women, and children with missing limbs, spinal injuries, and severe bleeding caused by the disaster have so far been part of this effort.

And until the U.S. determines who'll foot the bill for all this medical care, they'll be the only ones. The United States has halted treatment of Haitians from the earthquake in a contentious dispute over who should bear responsibility for the exorbitant costs: the state of Florida, the Federal government, national charities, or the hospitals themselves. It goes without saying that the patients themselves can't afford to pay for it, since they're from one of the poorest countries on Earth and many of them have just lost everything they own.

Florida's governor, Charlie Crist, has reportedly estimated the bill to already be in the millions of dollars. Hospitals in southeast Florida, meanwhile, deny that they have refused or will refuse treatment to any earthquake victim who comes to them.

However true that may be, this tragedy has put a magnifying glass to our own health care crisis, exposing precisely how sick the system really is. What if the earthquake had occurred in Miami, instead of an island 700 miles off-shore? Would the powers that be still engage in this game of health care tag? Each party seems to be yelling, "Not it!" as soon as someone else suggests they absorb some of the cost, leading to the cessation of treatment for thousands more patients in need.

In the past month, I have had to visit more doctors than I've had to see in the past 10 years. First a fall down the subway stairs injured my wrist, then a trip on a root banged up my knee, and then I developed a mysterious inflammation in my left foot and had to get X-rays and an MRI scan. Each time I've had to shell out a co-pay, which isn't cheap, but I've never been more thankful -- or more aware -- of my health insurance coverage.

Each time I've checked in at a doctor's office, I've been asked, "Do you have insurance?" And each time I've thought, "It's amazing that that's even a question."

There isn't a soul alive who won't require medical care at some point in their lives. And while I realize how complicated the issue is, I keep coming back to this basic question: If we are truly a civilized society, shouldn't it be a top priority to provide care to anyone in their time of need? After all, we guarantee an education to every child in this country. Why should health care be any different?

[Image: Ariana Cubillos for the AP]