Says Insurance Industry should push for even tougher Penalties

From Eric Dondero:

Virginia-based health care consultant and former insurance executive and president Robert Laszewski believes penalties in the new health care legislation are not stringent enough to disuade Americans from avoiding mandatory coverage.

Laszewski (photo), a regular commentator on cable news business shows, would like to see fines beefed up before the final legislation comes out of Senate/House mark-up.
From NewsMax:

proposed fines are too weak and the subsidies too meager to truly motivate people to buy insurance, Laszewski said. This means the people most motivated to buy coverage through these exchanges will be those who already have health problems — who are money losers for insurers.

"There aren't a lot of families with an extra $6,500 in their checking account," Laszewski said. "The problem with this bill is the subsidies are really quite modest, and there really aren't any penalties."

The NewsMax piece goes on to explain:

Insurers need a mix of healthy people enrolled in their coverage to help balance out claims they pay for patients who use more insurance.

The Senate bill calls for fines for people who do not purchase coverage and are not exempt from a mandate to buy it. They start at $95 in 2014 and rise to $750 by 2016.

Others are preparing to Fight Back against all Mandated Coverage

Many libertarians an others on the Right, have threatened to avoid taking mandated coverage based on principle, even if it means jail time. Others are threatenening lawsuits against what has been deemed as an Unconstitutional requirement to purchase a product.

At least one organization is already threatening to challenge the requirement as far up as the US Supreme Court. The Liberty Counsel, run by President Mathew Staver, issued a statement vowing that the group:

"is prepared to challenge the constitutionality of the bill since Congress has no authority to require every person to obtain insurance coverage and has no authority to fine employers who do not provide the coverage standards that are required in the bill."

Staver further stated, quoted from WND (via GiveUsLiberty blog):

He told WND that if the plan gets to the point of being signed into law by Obama, “We will sue.”

He said Liberty University will be a plaintiff along with other groups or individuals.

“The thrust is that Congress lacks the power to force health care coverage on individuals,” he said. “It lacks the power to fine employers that do not have or provide health care coverage according to the mandates of the bill.”

For more information, or to get involved - LC.org

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