The individual mandate, a Republican idea which shows how far to the right the Dems have gone

[joshcryer]

132. No, the aggregate industry will not in fact make more profits.

Administrative costs cannot be calculated into the MLR as per HHS and around a quarter of smaller insurers will go out of business. That's why all these right wing free market think tanks, including the vile and despicable ALEC, are against it. It's why investors jumped ship from health insurers. The profits are going to go down across the health insurance industry if only because people with pre-existing conditions must be covered, if only because children must be covered.

It's a right wing talking point to say that costs go up, profits go up, and so on: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/04/the_affordable_care_acts_spend.html

The reality is that even though it's a shitty solution, as a practical solution it takes us in the right direction for single payer.