Economist Michael Strain, my colleague at the American Enterprise Institute, surely knew he would attract criticism for writing in the Washington Post that sometimes the best healthcare policy is not that which results in the fewest deaths. We don’t pass laws that ensure zero traffic deaths (a 10-mph speed limit), or zero murders (ban guns and knives and place armed sentries on every corner). Why should we be terrified if some accountant tells us repealing a mandate could increase deaths?

But the clickbait-y headline on his article guaranteed a visceral reaction: “End Obamacare, and people could die. That’s okay.”