General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Want my support for the ACA? Repeal the mandate. [View all]AceWheeler
(55 posts)And do you know why and how the insurance industry changed over the past 40 years such that it resulted in such things as denial for pre-existing conditions?
The answer is two-fold. Insurance companies are for profit. Ideally, they insure people who don't really need the insurance.
Second, it has to do with risk pools. To increase profits, insurance companies proceeded to work in the direction of reducing risk in the risk pools.
In order to return to the large risk pools that previously funded insurance, the mandate is necessary. That's all there is to it. Without the mandate, the use of private insurance companies with large enough risk pools to allow insuring more people becomes impossible. Which, by the way, is why so many of us want a Medicare type program, rather than the ACA. The Medicare risk pool is everyone who pays taxes.
Finally, ALL insurance involves people paying for other people. That's what a risk pool is all about.