health care microeconomics

Health Care Microeconomics

Posted by The Barefoot Bum at 4:29 AM

Yesterday I looked at some of the macroeconomic reasons why universal

health care requires universal payment. Badtux the Snarky Penguin

talks about the microeconomics of the health care death spiral:

First is a mandate that health insurers must accept all comers,

regardless of how well or how sick they are. Second is that

insurers must cover pre-existing conditions. The final mandate in

Obama's plan is a mandate that health insurers are not allowed to

drop people from their rolls at renewal time.

Okay, so here's a question: with a mandate like these, why would

anybody voluntarily sign up for health insurance *before* they got

sick?