Reply #28: The question rests on a false premise

[markpkessinger]

I've said this over and over again. Despite the unfortunate moniker of "individual mandate," under the new health care law, no one will actually be required to purchase health insurance. Those who do not will be subject to a fine (really a tax). That fine or tax is currently proposed to be $695/year. The purpose is not to assess a penalty for noncompliance, but to recover at least some of the costs such persons will, sooner or later, impose on the insurance system by virtue of the fact that those persons would buy insurance only when they were already sick. Compared to the $3,000-$4,000 per year a typical individual health insurance premium costs, it's a bargain. If anything, a case can be made that the proposed fine is much too small and will, in fact, provide incentive for people not to purchase.