Be careful what you wish for. This cuts both ways.
The incidental economist notes: (Austin Frakt)
If one wants to address the problems in health insurance markets and/or to get providers to accept payment reforms, the mandate–or something like it–is the political price. Yes, it’s about money. What else?
Put it this way, if one wants to retain a private market-based health insurance system (which ours largely is), it takes a mandate. Reject the mandate without replacement with a similar mechanism and the whole thing unravels, not just as a matter of health economics (adverse selection) but as a matter of politics.
Medicynical Note: We’ve created the most dysfuntional, expensive healthcare non-system in the world. Yes we’re number one.
Employer sponsored health care is a mess. Employers don’t have to provide their employees health care–in many instances they can’t afford to provide it; “contractors” are not employees and don’t qualify for employer provided benefits; if you get sick and can’t work, you lose your insurance. Remarkable.
Our health care costs are twice that of many other industrialized countries and thousands more per capita/year. We have 50 million uninsured and have a “system” that encourages “free” use of the most inefficient, most expensive health care provider in the country–emergency rooms.
We all pay.
Medicynic 
Right on! But how do we change it in today’s political climate? I moved to Florida, where a truly wierd, strange guy named Rick Scott was elected governor in November. He wants to cut, cut, cut–including state’s involvement with Medicare/Medicaid- Pat
I recently read a book titled, “Uproot U.S. Healthcare: To Reform Healthcare” written by Deane Waldman, MD MBA… it is too bad that the government doesn’t check out his theories on the current U.S. health care system. He has a lot of great ideas, even has a great antidote for malpractice.