It appears that support for an American mandate to fall into place where you, I, and everyone will be forced to carry health insurance. Senator Baucaus, as well as a influential coalition supports this idea that was originally backed by Hillary Clinton and opposed by President Obama. Even Obama seems to be softening his stance on the healthcare mandate, as the President elect did not dismiss the idea and rather conceded that it will be “part of the debate” when his vaunted healthcare reform begins. What exactly would this mean to Americans?
Installing a healthcare mandate on an already struggling group of people is simply asinine without a way for them to pay for it. People do not “choose” not to have healthcare on the whole. The vast majority of people that have no healthcare insurance did not want to be in that position. They were forced to be in that position by losing their jobs, their investments, and so on. Healthcare reform is necessary, and certainly a mandate would make sense if it were accompanied by a way for low income folks to afford it.
Advocates of the mandated health insurance idea say that those that have no insurance are forcing premiums higher on those that do have to pay for them. This might be so, but it is largely due to the rediculous prices and terms of carrying health insurance. Somebody that lives paycheck to paycheck has little hope of getting lucky enough to be able to afford insurance, and if they could, they would likely not qualify because of the various pre-existing conditions they acquired while doing without it.
As it is now, the premiums for already sick individuals are hopelessly out of reach for much of low to middle income Americans that can hardly afford the medicine, much less doctors. The insurance comapanies are not likely to lift that policy without some type of guaranteed money, and that has to come from somewhere. A mandate on health insurance is short sighted without healthcare reform in the first place. The idea is a good one if it will provide for those that would be struggling to pay for it. Otherwise, it is just another way to stick it to the low income Americans that drive the heart of America in the first place.
Odds are, this will have trouble passing through. Mandatory health insurance would affect millions of Americans in a negative way if it is simply passed through before reform. The longterm aspects and details are not clear yet, but with the number of supporters the idea is getting, it may not be long before it is a reality. I too, envision a day where healthcare will be shared by every American. I just wonder if forcing us to pay for it in spite of our ability to do so is the way to go.
