Because employers can provide group health insurance plans. Without either the individual mandate (which is itself a half-assed approximation to single payer h

Because employers can provide group health insurance plans. Without either the individual mandate (which is itself a half-assed approximation to single payer healthcare) or group health insurance (through employers or some other non-health-related cooperative), people put off getting health insurance until they get sick, the risk pool stops being a pool and the whole concept of "insurance" falls apart.