Healthcare fines and mandates

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B15Y920091205?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

The way I understand this bill, if it passes, is that there will be a mandate to buy insurance,  a fine for not buying insurance and a misdemeanor charge with possible jail time or another $25,000 fine for refusing to pay the original fine. And if someone has been diagnosed with, say, cancer, they can't be refused insurance.

In effect, this is a $2000 dollar tax to help pay for healthcare reform. It will be interesting to see how many people buy insurance or how many people pay the fine. When people begin comparing the subsidies they receive to buy insurance, many who are close to the line to receive subsidies are going to be angry when someone who makes a little less than them receives a subsidy.

This will cause more resentment, division and demands that the subsidies be given to more people who claim they can't afford the extra expense. Something else that will be interesting is the first case of refusal to buy insurance or pay the fine. Will they receive jail-time? Will there be a public uproar over the injustice? What if thousands of people refuse to buy insurance or pay the fine?

If everyone does decide to buy insurance, this will divert money away from other products and services consumers would buy with that money, and, of course, taxes will have to be raised to pay for the subsidies. This will likely keep unemployment high, except in the healthcare field and government jobs.

Wages will need to be suppressed for healhcare workers to keep costs down, so I wonder how many people will study and gain healthcare skills necessary for the increased demand? Will people leave the healthcare field if the demand is increased and the pay is lowered? People don't like the idea of working harder and getting paid less, plus, the healthcare field is a tough business.

If the system is overloaded, and if the public begins complaining about the cost of the mandate, and if insurance companies lose lots of money by having to accept pre-existing conditions, will the healthcare field begin to unravel, and will there be a demand for a government solution? Yes, most likely.

So, all the proponents of single payer, nationalized healthcare ought to be feeling good about the possibilities.