I’m in favor of mandating that everybody carry catastrophic health insurance.
For example, forcing a young, healthy adult to carry insurance to cover the possibility of unexpected serious illness or accident makes perfect sense to me.
I’m indifferent re: making them carry basic coverage for run-of-the-mill maladies like the occasional sore throat. If they want to self-insure on those incidents, so be it.
What most puzzles me is how Team Obama plans to enforce the health insurance mandate.
How will the people without insurance be identified? How much will the fines be? What if they can’t afford the fines?
For example, what about illegal immigrants? (Note: despite the rhetoric to the contrary, they are in the 47 million uninsureds). The government (national and local) refuses to enforce employment laws or to check immigration status upon arrest (for non-immigration crimes).
Will we profile folks, stop them and ask them to present their insurance cards? I doubt it.
So, when and where will folks have to provide proof of insurance?
For mortgages, lenders require proof of home insurance.
For auto insurance, it happens when cars are registered (though people can lie), and when there’s a traffic violation.
But for health insurance, what’s the mechanism that will be put in place?
I can’t imagine any practical way of enforcing the law … and the pontificators certainly haven’t served any up. My bet: it’ll be in the ERs when people show up for treatment – which, of course, they will get.
If anybody knows the answer, please post a reply.
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One idea: require proof of health insurance coverage at the voting booth …
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The Homa Files 
August 24, 2009 at 9:30 am |
The case law appears to pose a significant challange to federal insurance mandates passing legal review:
“But can Congress require every American to buy health insurance?
In short, no. The Constitution assigns only limited, enumerated powers to Congress and none, including the power to regulate interstate commerce or to impose taxes, would support a federal mandate requiring anyone who is otherwise without health insurance to buy it.
Although the Supreme Court has interpreted Congress’s commerce power expansively, this type of mandate would not pass muster even under the most aggressive commerce clause cases.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082103033.html?sub=AR
August 24, 2009 at 12:02 pm |
In the Cash for Clunkers deal, you must prove that you had insurance on your car for the past year.
In the case of health insurance, maybe funeral directors could be prohibited from providing services unless there was proof of health insurance for the past year. (Just a thought; not a serious proposal.)
August 25, 2009 at 7:48 am |
This is actually a simple problem to solve. Before you check out at the grocery store, you are required to show your insurance card. They could also implement the “push ups for calories program”. For every 1000 calories you buy at the store, you are required to give 10 pushups before you leave. This will then solve the major health care problem..obesity.