OK, agreed - it's not really insurance if it is mandatory and everybody can have it.
As a self-employed person, like yourself I assume, I buy my own insurance. Since I am probably much older than you, my premiums are very high - and rising every year - though I have bene lucky enough to seldom use my plan - I figure it will cost more than my mortgage in five years. But I will probably keep paying because I have little choice - being the person I am.
Meanwhile, Joe Sixpack goes to the ER with no insuranace, gets treated, gets on the county health system (which I must pay for in sales taxes). OK - not fair either, but I don't want to live in a society where we just let Joe Sixpack die (or his kids).
And the insurance companies will keep denying claims - or people will max out benefits because their employer (or they) bought some crappy plan that doesn't have good outpatient (and chemo is usually outpatient), etc. Then they too end up on the county health system - even thoguth they thought they had insurance. ...or they deny Suzy's claim because she had a pimple in 8th grade she forgot to disclose.
All I'm saying is our governemnt should protect us a bit - because insurance companies sure aren't going to -
All I'm saying is I don't really mind contributing to a safety net if it could be there for me if I need it.
Solutions? Because there is a problem.