Regarding the analogy that the individual mandate is like forcing everyone to buy food.

[Native]

37. You're talking about a different situation.

If you had gone into the ER and been admitted and run up a bill of $13,900 and had no insurance and never bothered to pay the bill (as many uninsured people do), who do you think eats the bill? Remember the old saying, there's no such thing as a free lunch? The cost to the hospital to provide that service is passed on in higher costs to everyone else, and higher premiums.

Even though insurance companies negotiate discounted rates (what you perceive to be lower costs than what individuals without insurance are charged), an individual can also negotiate - sometimes getting the cost down below what some insurance companies are billed. Most people don't realize this though, and they don't try to negotiate. I know people who've negotiated hospital stays down to 30% of the original amount billed.

60% of all bankruptcies are due to medical costs - even by people with insurance. Anything that can be done to make the system more equitable and more efficient will bring about cost savings that everyone will enjoy.

Unless you've worked in health care (I have) and in the insurance industry (I have), it's difficult to understand how it all goes down.