While Sen. Baucus proposed Health Bill mandates insurance companies must provide medical coverage for Citizens with preexisting conditions, it fails to clarify if the insurance has to be affordable. This proposal calls for charging individuals a $900 penalty and families $3,800 that Opt-Out buying health insurance, unless they are poor: but the proposal does not clarify who is poor: for example, would millions of Americans that own homes, who have little or no money to buy health insurance, qualify as poor? If the answer is No, those Americans would be charged big penalties for opting-out because, they could not afford more expensive health insurance: it would appear Opt-Out Penalties might be used by the Obama Government to pay insurance premiums for persons the Obama Administration deems as poor. What will happen to individuals who cannot afford every year, a $900 Opt-out penalty or 3,800 for their family, in addition to income taxes?

While I think the Baucus bill is lousy, the mandate to purchase health insurance is reasonable (if there is a reasonable public option).

Even if you opt out, there is still the risk that you'll get sick and end up going to a doctor. The fine should be used to fund public clinics. In the Baucus bill it isn't, but that's not the point. In a universal system everyone must participate to defray the costs of coverage for the elderly, people who work at physically demanding jobs, and so forth.