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by Ed Morrissey

White House budget director Peter Orszag says penalty size isn’t the only factor in determining whether people buy coverage. He predicts the mandate will help create societal expectations that everyone gets health insurance, just as most people feel obligated to buckle their seat belts.

He points to Massachusetts, which in 2007 became the first state to require that most residents have insurance. Since then, the percentage of uninsured has declined to 4% from about 7%.

The Massachusetts penalty for failing to buy insurance this year is $1,068 — about half the cost of the lowest annual premium. About 96% of tax filers in the state in 2008 reported they had coverage; only 1% paid a penalty.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which assesses the impact of legislation, says the number of people opting to pay the penalty instead of buying coverage would be “limited.”

Others aren’t so sanguine.

“Engineering social norms is hard,” says Jeffrey Munn, a principal with the consulting firm Hewitt in Washington. “We may need to temper our expectations around what an individual mandate can actually accomplish.”

A recent CBO report provides a few examples of Americans who don’t follow existing mandates:

Most states have required seat belt use for about two decades, yet 18% of Americans still don’t buckle up. Schools have required children to get immunized for chickenpox since the 1990s, but 15% don’t get vaccinated. Nearly all states require drivers to buy car insurance, but 15% don’t comply.

Let’s put those numbers in perspective. At the moment, we have an uninsured rate of 13%, which includes illegal immigrants and millions who opt to pay cash rather than buy comprehensive coverage. Only about 14 million people don’t have insurance because of financial inability to pay (rather than a choice to use their money for other...

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A Sad End to the Troubling Life of Chris Henry

17.12.09

On April 23, 2005 the Cincinnati Bengals selected wide receiver Chris Henry from West Virginia in the third round with the 83rd overall pick.

In college, Henry had a very good career. He earned Big East freshman of the year and All-Big East second team in 2003. In his career at West Virginia, Henry had 93 receptions, 1,878 yards, and 22 TDs in just two years.

When he left West Virginia, many teams avoided Henry because of his character issues and run-ins with the law. His head coach Rich Rodriguez said Henry was an embarrassment to himself and the program.

Even with these character issues, the Bengals took a chance on Henry.

In his rookie season on the field, Henry had 31 receptions for 422 yards and six touchdowns. These stats were impressive for a rookie season.

Off the field though, Henry wasn't impressing anyone.

On Dec. 15th, 2005, Henry was pulled over in Kentucky for speeding. During a search, police found marijuana in his shoes. He also didn't have a valid driver's license or insurance. He pleaded guilty and avoided jail time.

Source: Bleacher Report

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