AMA proposes mandatory health insurance laws

They say that those making $49,000 or more should have to buy insurance.
CHICAGO (AP) -- The nation's largest doctors group said Tuesday that Americans who can afford health insurance should be required to buy it, a recommendation aimed particularly at young adults who tend to postpone coverage.
The American Medical Association adopted the recommendation at its annual meeting, vowing to lobby for federal legislation that would mandate health insurance first for people whose income is greater than 500 percent of the federal poverty level.
That means the law would apply to individuals who earn at least $49,000 annually and families of four with an income of at least $100,000. Those individuals and families account for about 11 percent of the nation's 46 million uninsured, or about 5 million Americans, the AMA said.
The policy suggests that those who don't buy a minimum of catastrophic health insurance and coverage for preventive health services be held accountable, possibly through tax penalties that would create revenue to help lower-income people buy insurance.
An AMA council report that prompted the policy said the "free-rider" problem forces society to pay higher taxes and insurance premiums for care given to those who don't bother to get insurance.
"Young, relatively healthy people who elect not to have health insurance create an excessive amount of cost to the health care system," said Dr. Ardis Hoven, an AMA board member.
The AMA said it also would push for tax credits or other subsidies to help people earning less than 500 percent of the poverty level obtain health insurance. It then would seek to require them to buy health insurance, too.
"The societal benefits of having more people insured, leading healthier lives, would be enormous," Hoven said.
The council report was among more than 250 proposals presented at the annual meeting, where AMA delegates decide what policies to add to the group's lobbying agenda. This year's five-day meeting ends today.
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