Reply #39: not nearly enough....

[mike_c]

Who decides who can afford insurance? I make considerably more money than the cutoff for subsidies-- the current legislation has decided that I can afford to buy private insurance without any assistance. But doing so would probably make me homeless unless the cost was SUBSTANTIALLY lower, like less than $50/month.

A full coverage employer mandate would help, but it would be devastating for small businesses, probably even many large corporations-- mandating private insurance will be just as devastating to the middle class, who mostly will not receive enough subsidy to offset the cost of buying insurance.

I presently pay NOTHING for insurance-- my employer provides it free of cost to me (it's not a great plan but it's not the worst out there, either). So if employers continue to provide insurance, and extend that coverage to everyone, then mandated insurance won't be any real problem, but it likewise won't be any real reform of the current system. On the other hand, if government enacts legislation requiring people to obtain private insurance no matter what, many employers will let us carry that ball for ourselves, because they can, and doing so will increase their profits. I mean, would you really expect them to do otherwise?