[tptacek]

What mandatory insurance scheme is not a tax on the fortunate to subsidize the unfortunate?

Without a mandate, how do you provide any reasonable coverage to the unfortunate without falling prey to adverse selection?

This argument just doesn't seem well thought out.

[orangecat]

What mandatory insurance scheme is not a tax on the fortunate to subsidize the unfortunate?

If you make healthy people buy fairly priced catastrophic coverage so that if they have an accident they don't declare bankruptcy and stick the rest of us with the bill, that's not a subsidy. It becomes a subsidy when you force them to pay the same rates as less healthy people, or force them to buy comprehensive policies that go beyond the coverage that they actually need.

[baguasquirrel]

I can't agree more. If we must discuss things at the heartless, what's-in-it-for-us level: Just because you may get sick doesn't mean you'd be a bad entrepreneur. One of the best mobile programmers I know has gout, and it's pretty difficult for him to get coverage.