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So if the government agreed to fund a number of local 'health insurance charters' out of general taxation in proportion to sign-ups - but just mandated that you

So if the government agreed to fund a number of local 'health insurance charters' out of general taxation in proportion to sign-ups - but just mandated that you had to sign up to one of those - would that be acceptable? How does that differ, really, from an individual insurance mandate?

delinka 10y ago
Collecting taxes and providing, by hiring a private company, a service vs. Mandating that I purchase a private company's services myself. In the first case, the government uses its bargaining power (all that money) to negotiate a lower price by requesting bids and selecting a provider. In the second case, I'm a captive customer with little, if any, bargaining power. My bargaining power does indeed depend on how this second arrangement is legislated and how many providers are available to me.