Mandated Health Insurance Gains Support

Winds have been blowing again on Capitol Hill with a senior Senate Democrat teamed with a coalition of business and consumer groups coming to the table with yet another proposal to mandate health insurance for all Americans.

The proposal under discussion, backed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, suggested that a mandated insurance policy would streamline the market and go a long way towards reducing the costs of premiums.

Senator Baucus said that the medical costs of the uninsured are being forced on to those with insurance coverage and increasing the costs. This reason alone may be a good reason to consider different approaches to health insurance coverage. It is part of the impetus for total reform.

At the same time, the Health Reform Dialogue, of a powerful coalition of hospitals, doctors, nurses, businesses, as well as consumer and insurance groups are working together to evaluate and frame new ideas. Reform may indeed come in the form of a national mandate on health insurance. It may also include the concept of federal subsidies that will help more people obtain coverage.

Members of the coalition include the American Hospital Association, AARP, Families USA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among others.

Government figures for 2007 put the total number of uninsured at approximately 46 million people. It is a staggering number that may be higher today.

According to President Obama, a fundamental restructuring of the current healthcare system is desperately needed. As such, he has repeatedly said that such an overhaul is one of his top priorities behind the economy. Still, the President suggested that he was skeptical regarding the mandate largely because he believed that the reason people don’t have coverage is because they simply cannot afford it rather than not wanting it.

Despite the zealous support that a health insurance mandate has, there is still a question of whether such legislation, if passed, would make it easier for people to get coverage or just place additional burdens on the American people. Many may be asking how they might be able to afford coverage if it is made mandatory by law.

Even Senator Baucus did not provide details about how the mandate would work, but it very well could be imposed on the individual, the business, or both. The coverage would be provided for all people.