Yes and no. While they can not force you to buy insurance, with the Affordable Care Act, they can make you pay an additional tax if you choose not to have health coverage. This tax is supposed to offset the costs that hospitals incur because they have to treat people even if they don't have insurance.
In general, you should get insurance because you never know when you may get sick or injured and medical bills can be huge. Talk to a local independent broker. They can assist you in finding the cheapest plan that meets all of your needs.
That is an interesting question! I don't suppose that anyone can force you to do anything that you don't want to do, but they can make it unpleasant if you choose not do do what they ask. You can choose to speed, but you might get a ticket; you can choose to carry an unlicensed gun in your car, but if found, you may spend some time in jail. We all make choices, and some have negative consequences. Buying health insurance is the same. Does buying it make sense? Yes it does. Your options for treatment are supposed to be the same, should you need them and you have none, but I know (at least where I live) those services aren't always provided at the best possible providers. You still get them, but....You also pay for the services of those who choose not to have insurance, whether you want to or not, through higher prices when you do need medical help. Medical providers are going to get paid one way or another. It also makes sense to have it because if you choose not to buy it, (and help lower costs for everyone) the Government can and certainly will levy a tax fine against you, one that increases over time. Can they force you to buy? Nope, anymore than they can force you to do anything else. I hope that answers your question, and thank you for asking it!
President, The Firm of Steven H. Kobrin, LUTCF, 6-05 Saddle River Rd #103, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
Boy, what a question.
For me, it gets to the root of what is wrong with government these days.
I’m going to speak bluntly because I feel very strongly about this issue.
Even though I sell life insurance for a living, I have had extensive experience in the medical insurance marketplace. I am also a consumer, and have to buy the product for myself and my family.
And, I am a patriotic American who wants to see our country run the way it should be.
Everybody needs medical care. If the insurance marketplace is left to run by its own devices, the vast majority of people will end up with a product that they like, at a price they can afford. If a small minority of people end up without coverage for whatever reason, their needs can be easily addressed. This could take place with a government safety net, an innovation by private companies, or some combination of the above.
Either way, everyone will be able to have some form of coverage so that the cost of getting medical attention could be kept affordable.
Beyond making sure that healthcare products and services are safe and secure, I can’t see why government invention would be needed at all to make this system work.
Next point: nobody is entitled to medical insurance. Frankly, nobody is “entitled” to anything. A government should not be in the business of providing the stuff to which we think we are entitled. The whole notion of government “taking care of you from cradle-to-grave” is horribly misguided. A gargantuan state and federal bureaucracy can in no way give each and every man, woman and child the treatment they deserve every day of their life.
Last point: giving this gargantuan bureaucracy the legal power to force you to do business with it is a travesty of justice. We have made a horrible mistake by giving the federal government the right to tax or penalize us when purchasing health insurance. We have let it get much too cozy with the corporate providers of healthcare.
Who exactly is benefiting by this illicit partnership? Is it you? Is it me? Do we actually have the health insurance we need at a price we can afford?
Many Americans do not.
So the answer to your question is yes, the United States government can force you to buy health insurance, and we have nobody to blame but ourselves for this sorry state of affairs.
Agency Owner, The Thomas G Sheehan Agency, 27 Glen Road Sandy Hook, CT 06482
My colleagues have pretty much hit the nail on the head. The Health Care Reform Act includes provisions that in effect, "require" everyone to be covered by an approved health insurance plan, be it a group or individual contract. The general idea is that if everyone in the United States is covered, then not only will everyone have more access to health care with a means to pay for it, but the costs will be lesser because the insured pool is larger. One of the foundation principals of any insurance is referred to as "the law of large numbers". THis concept means that the larger the pool of insured folks sharing the risk, the more affordable the insurance.
That having been said, the rules of the game with our system now certainly do "strongly encourage" everyone to have health insurance. And the consequences of chooosing to go against this are some pretty hefty additional taxes that can grow larger with each passing year.
Bottom line, please obtain the insurance.
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In general, you should get insurance because you never know when you may get sick or injured and medical bills can be huge. Talk to a local independent broker. They can assist you in finding the cheapest plan that meets all of your needs.
For me, it gets to the root of what is wrong with government these days.
I’m going to speak bluntly because I feel very strongly about this issue.
Even though I sell life insurance for a living, I have had extensive experience in the medical insurance marketplace. I am also a consumer, and have to buy the product for myself and my family.
And, I am a patriotic American who wants to see our country run the way it should be.
Everybody needs medical care. If the insurance marketplace is left to run by its own devices, the vast majority of people will end up with a product that they like, at a price they can afford. If a small minority of people end up without coverage for whatever reason, their needs can be easily addressed. This could take place with a government safety net, an innovation by private companies, or some combination of the above.
Either way, everyone will be able to have some form of coverage so that the cost of getting medical attention could be kept affordable.
Beyond making sure that healthcare products and services are safe and secure, I can’t see why government invention would be needed at all to make this system work.
Next point: nobody is entitled to medical insurance. Frankly, nobody is “entitled” to anything. A government should not be in the business of providing the stuff to which we think we are entitled. The whole notion of government “taking care of you from cradle-to-grave” is horribly misguided. A gargantuan state and federal bureaucracy can in no way give each and every man, woman and child the treatment they deserve every day of their life.
Last point: giving this gargantuan bureaucracy the legal power to force you to do business with it is a travesty of justice. We have made a horrible mistake by giving the federal government the right to tax or penalize us when purchasing health insurance. We have let it get much too cozy with the corporate providers of healthcare.
Who exactly is benefiting by this illicit partnership? Is it you? Is it me? Do we actually have the health insurance we need at a price we can afford?
Many Americans do not.
So the answer to your question is yes, the United States government can force you to buy health insurance, and we have nobody to blame but ourselves for this sorry state of affairs.
That having been said, the rules of the game with our system now certainly do "strongly encourage" everyone to have health insurance. And the consequences of chooosing to go against this are some pretty hefty additional taxes that can grow larger with each passing year.
Bottom line, please obtain the insurance.