Mandatory Health Insurance Absurd, Unaffordable

Requiring Americans to purchase health insurance is an absolute joke. It cannot and will not work. And either the government will be ticketing many, many people for not having health insurance, or it will find the idea—if it becomes law—going the same direction as Hillary Clinton’s 1993 health care proposal: into the trash.

Mitt Romney put such a health care plan in place in his state of Massachusetts last year; California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants the plan to succeed in California; and Senator Hillary Clinton’s made it part of her latest health insurance proposal. The plan to make sure all Americans have individual health insurance policies would require everyone to obtain their own policies in a similar manner that we are required to have car insurance today. You’ll shop around with various insurance companies and gain rate quotes for which insurance policies fit your needs and you’ll make a purchase—and you’ll be forced to have minimum coverage or face legal implications.

The main difference between requiring car insurance and requiring health insurance is that requiring car insurance truly can and does affect others around you when you’re in a car accident. Car insurance is typically reasonably priced, if you choose to obtain the minimum required by law. But the main reason people don’t purchase health insurance is the price. Many Americans cannot afford health insurance—and owning a health insurance policy rarely affects anyone but yourself.

The Clinton/Romney/Schwarzenegger plan cannot possibly succeed without providing a way to reduce health care costs. If Americans are forced to buy something they can’t afford, it will send many additional people into financial disarray.