Are Health Insurance Mandates a Tax?

Tonight on the PBS News Hour, Johathan Gruber of MIT and Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute debated health insurance mandates. Evidently, Mr. Cannon thinks that mandating health insurance coverage or a least charging a penalty to those who refuse to purchase insurance is a tax. To me, it seems more like a parking ticket for failing to plug the meter in the public health care parking slot. Minimally, it's an avoidable free-rider tax. Of course, if you are opposed to all taxation, then anything that can be called a tax is objectionable.

Mr. Cannon's charge should not be confused with the Baucus Health Care Plan that does place an excise tax on "cadillac" health care plans. When a plan provides "cadillac" coverage is debatable, but given the collapse of GM it's no surprise that both executives at Goldman Sachs and some blue collar workers might have to pay the tax. Of course, the excise tax is a way to pay for universal coverage without increasing taxes.

A lot of this would go away if the Federal government made it attractive for states to pursue single-payer plans or anything else they think might increase coverage and reduce costs.