One Positive for BaucusCare

» WaPo: Affordability Is Major Challenge for Reform

I'm by no means swayed to consider an individual mandate as something worth supporting. But there's at least a ray of optimism contained in the Baucus health care bill (emphasis mine):

Obama sought to ease concerns among young adults, who are now among the least likely to purchase health insurance, but who would be required to do so under the Baucus plan. Healthy 20-somethings are key to successful reform, because their payments to insurance companies would offset the costs of care for older adults.

The White House has endorsed one approach to covering more young people: allowing them to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26. Baucus chose a different approach, proposing the creation of a cheaper policy, one covering only the most dire and expensive medical emergencies, that would be offered exclusively to the same age group.

I've been saying for a while now that if you can get a health care premium crafted to be around the price of a cable/satellite bill, then you're likely to do well over half of the easy work in extending health care coverage. It's a positive that this is being acknowledged.

But by the time people are realizing that they're forced to go buy health insurance when they may have more legitimate reasons not to other than "I'm 20 and invincible," there's bound to be some pushback on this. The Massachusetts example isn't entirely warranted on the national level since the state, pre-RomneyCare, was already among the most highly insured. Extending coverage was fairly minimal there. It won't be when it comes to poorer families that can't afford it and fit into a loophole or reporting glitch for public subsidies. All the more reason to address the business side of the equation first, you would think.