My position is in support of the obligation to provide free care. Hospitals and providers must make extremely difficult decisions and evaluate patients on a case-by-case basis, but when a circumstance is beyond the patient's control and treatment can greatly improve the patient's well-being, it is unethical to deny the patient free care (Welter, 2009 ). Theories of distributive justice, such as utilitarianism and egalitarianism, have emphasized the importance of applying decision-making principles uniformly and consistently (Welner,