Some facts about insurance mandates:
The Federal Government has NEVER required any citizen to purchase a product - with good reason. Such a federal mandate would be an unprecedented expansion of government power. What happens when insurance is mandated? Here are some facts…
In states where auto insurance is mandated compared to the states that do not mandate insurance, the percentage of uninsured drivers is essentially THE SAME. In California, where insurance is mandated for example, nearly 30% of drivers are uninsured. This percentage translates to 90 million Americans that would not comply with health insurance mandates.
In some states that mandate auto insurance, drivers are then required to carry uninsured motorists insurance to cover those that do not comply with the mandates. Will we then be forced to pay additional healthcare premiums to cover those that are uninsured?
Auto insurance is MORE costly in those states that have mandates. Why? Because the insurance companies know that they can charge more to those that are required by law to purchase their product. In states with no mandates, the insurance companies must keep costs down to lure or encourage drivers to purchase their product.
Hawaii is the only state that has mandated health care insurance. Yet, roughly 10% of Hawaiians remain uncovered. This translates to approximately 30 million Americans if mandated health insurance became law.
To the degree that health care and health insurance becomes less expensive, more low-income people can be brought into the system. That would be a better, more realistic and far less risky approach than individual mandates. Individual mandates are very costly to enforce, create more bureaucracy, lead to more and more mandates of particular procedures and benefits, and would lead to higher and higher costs.
Can we AFFORD mandated insurance? As someone who is self-employed, give me affordable, comprehensive coverage and I will RUSH to enroll. Give me expensive, bare-bones coverage and I will have no choice but to disregard the mandates. How then will my government enforce these mandates, and how much will that enforcement cost the taxpayers?
