[randita]

Employers have discovered that it it often cheaper to drop or not offer health insurance to employees, pay a small penalty and let the state take their workers into its coverage.

That was the intention all along.

[t2buckeye]

BINGO!

Let me tell you the story of New Jersey and MANDATORY auto insurance years ago. They had a state run insurance program for those who could not (for one reason or another) get car insurance...many of the insurers fled NJ because of the regulations.

So many people were on the state plan AND the state had no incentive to seek and wipe out fraud, that the system went bankrupt! It was a massive boondoggle! Eventually, incentives were given to bring insurers into NJ....it’s still mandatory, but the state is basically out of the insurance business. (as far as I know)

When government gets into the medical insurance game, costs will go up, fraud will go up, and services will tank.