Opinion Source Information:
source:
It’s the Cost, Stupid.
Studies have consistently shown that the number one reason people do not have health insurance is they can’t afford it. Mandating health insurance treats a symptom — the uninsured — and not the problem of high health insurance
premiums. In Massachusetts, the only state to impose an individual mandate, the twin mid-1990s “reforms” of guaranteed issue (i.e., insurers must accept every applicant) and modified community rating (i.e., charging the same rates regardless of the applicant’s health) drove up individual policy rates so that only the wealthy can afford coverage. The newly passed and much lauded Massachusetts reform has done nothing to lower the cost of health insurance; rather it hides the cost by subsidizing coverage for targeted populations. And while Massachusetts may be an extreme example...
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Conclusion.
We agree with those who support a mandate that
everyone should have access to health insurance, and we agree
that a mandate has the potential to encourage more individuals to
purchase coverage. But mandating coverage is a reactive, gov-
ernment solution to problems that are often caused by govern-
ment policies in the first place.
Rather than mandating coverage, states could dramatically reduce the number of uninsured with far less money by enacting policies that encourage innovative plan designs, subsidize low income families, create tax fairness for all policies and establish a well-functioning safety net.