SEBELIUS ON THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE: MAYBE, MAYBE NOT

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was in first-class waffling mode on CNN on Sunday, telling John King that the United States is not ready to mandate that every individual have health care coverage, but—in true politician speak—that a mandate might work if “the rules” were changed, thereby carefully not closing the door on the concept.

Since AHIP has stated that its agreement to eliminate medical underwriting and guarantee issuance is dependent on everyone having insurance, Sebelius may have few choices. Either health care reform must include an individual mandate, or it must create essentially an entitlement program like Medicare (as in Fuchs and Emanuel’s proposal). Any other solution gives AHIP an excuse to back out of their agreement.