[roscoguy]

Originally Posted by Choro&Swing

The original intent for the Affordable Care Act was that everyone with a job who didn’t get health insurance coverage at work would have to pay every month for insurance coverage, even if they were young and healthy. ... Then that requirement got canceled by Congress, and as a result, there was no way the available policies could remain affordable. Add to that millions of Americans who had never had health insurance and now began using their insurance for endless trips to the doctor that they used to skip. This should have been anticipated, but it wasn’t.

Very true. What had been reported, but is now largely ignored, is that it was the insurance companies that demanded the individual mandate. This only made sense from an insurance standpoint: you can't have only elderly and/or sick in the insurance pool or there wouldn't be enough money to cover costs. ALL insurance works in a similar way. Some members of Congress & Attorneys General worked to have the individual mandate struck down, basically as a backdoor method to bankrupt or invalidate the ACA.

Originally Posted by Choro&Swing

Even today, the Affordable Care Act could once again be affordable if drug prices were controlled, if everyone without insurance were required to pay for it or pay a large yearly fine, as intended, AND if the policies had substantial deductibles.

Also very true. And another proposed part of the ACA that some members of Congress demanded be removed.

Originally Posted by Choro&Swing

It could also be done if some of the policies were for catastrophic care coverage. Say, a young single guy had to pay $250 a month and was responsible for all normal costs, but if he crashed his motorcycle, everything over $10,000 would be covered.

Another possible method would be to introduce some measure of personal accountability into health care: there would be limited or no coverage for many self-induced conditions. You wanna smoke? No problem, just sign this insurance waiver. BMI over 35? Reduce it or sign the waver. Etc, etc. (That might even make a great warning label for tobacco products... "Warning: Use of this product can invalidate your health insurance!")