I don't support any bill with an individual mandate

[glen123098]

I have no clue why it is so popular, an individual mandate is just a regressive tax for people who cannot afford healthcare.

[babylonsister]

1. Did you support the PO? nt

[glen123098]

4. Yes

[babylonsister]

11. ...

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/12/the_best_argument.php?ref=fpblg

The Best Argument
Josh Marshall | December 15, 2009, 2:48PM


The best argument I've heard from people who say the emerging bill isn't just insufficient but just bad law is this: If you're going to force people to buy coverage (mandates), you need to provide them an alternative to buying private sector health insurance to prevent them from getting gouged by the insurance companies. In the abstract that makes a lot of sense. And it even makes a decent amount of sense in the non-abstract, real world.

Here's the problem though. The fantasy Public Option would have served this role and put a lot of downward pressure on private sector insurance premiums. And at the beginning of this debate I thought that's what was being discussed. In fact, though, none of the Public Options that had any support in Congress really accomplished this. They were all designed to keep most people from being able to buy in. That's why the scoring from the CBO showed very few people actually buying into it (2 million for the senate bill and 6 for House bill, if memory serves) and relatively little downward pressure on premiums. Why they were so feeble-ized is a good question -- for which I've heard some good and some bad answers.

My point though is that if you are worried about mandates now (and I think that's a very legitimate worry) you should have been worried about them with a Public Option too.

[PDJane]

2. Singe Payer is the only mandate I'd support.

[glen123098]

7. Yeah, thats what I support

Like what they have in England. Everyone there has healthcare, no one is fined for not having healthcare, so why cant we have that here?

[MNDemNY]

3. But the coverage will be mediocre? why the problem?

[county worker]

5. I could support a mandate if there were decent choices to be had.

There is no alternative but to go into the belly of the whale.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

6. I agree, I do not support mandates.

but because I don't think congress should have (or does have) the authority to mandate that we buy products.
Seems like a very slippery slope to me.

[Jamastiene]

8. It's time for some civil disobedience.

Let our government lock us all up. They won't be able to build enough prisons. The LEAST Congre$$ can do is use some of their profits from this bill to take care of the people they are attacking.

[FiveGoodMen]

9. I'll never support anyone who was in favor of the mandate.

[librechik]

10. there used to be subsidies--now those are gone. The final bill has to have subsidies

or it's just robbing people to give the money to private insurance companies.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. The mandate's for people who can afford healthcare.

[glen123098]

13. I would assume most people who could afford healthcare would buy it.

So what is the purpose of the mandate then?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Because there are a few dicks out there who think they'll stay healthy forever.

This is, and was always about, those few percentages of people who can afford healthcare but choose not to, then get sick and wind up costing taxpayers a fortune.