Why should auto insurance be mandated but not health insurance?

[kentuck]

If you are in an automobile accident, you can get paid for the entire cost of your automobile. But if you are injured, your health insurance will hopefully pay the cost for your hospitalization. Why should your automobile be protected but not your body?? Does that make sense? Perhaps automobile insurance should not be mandated either?

[Sub Atomic]

1. I don't have to have a car.

I can't seem to live without my body, though.

[kentuck]

3. Do you ever ride in a car?

What if you are severely injured in an accident??

[ejpoeta]

5. if you ride in a car, then the owner probably has the insurance as they are the owner...

you cannot correlate the two as we CHOOSE to drive a car.... whereas we are alive and thus have health needs.... we can't opt out of that. Just the act of birth costs money. Whether it be in a hospital or with a midwife.... then if there are complications of that birth, there is a cost. and that is just at birth.... it goes on from there.

btw.... the auto insurance pays for the injuries to the person in the car. I should know. I had a car accident in 1997 and I had no health insurance either. The auto insurance paid the hospital bills.... they should have paid the ambulance and mercy flight too.... yet somehow those things are on my credit report.

[TxRider]

31. Even with mandates, 15% of drivers have no insurance.

[bighart]

2. Because your auto can cause harm to others.

Liability insurance is mandated to cover the expenses of someone you may injury or property you may destroy with your vehicle, full coverage insurance to pay your oown expenses is generally not mandated.

[Freddie Stubbs]

21. Those without health insurance cause economic harm to others when they show up to the hospital ER

The hospital will then pass along the cost of treating the uninsured to its paying customers (insurers and patients).

[bighart]

24. I understand your point

but it is not viewed in the same way by legislators or the public.

[FBaggins]

26. Somewhat circular though if you think about it

I'm not saying it's wrong, but the only reason (apart from charity) the hospitals provide that service is because the government requires them to.

So imagine the argument before this law was in place. The argument says that you can't make me buy health insurance because I'm only hurting myself. Can the government say "sure... but now we'll make a law that says we have to pay for you if you don't pay for yourself... NOW we can force you to buy insurance because you'll be hurting us if you don't" ?

[Wizard777]

29. And your body cant? Ever hear of a murder or communicable disease?

[Statistical]

43. Logic fail.

Nobody is suggesting you be required to buy insurance (general liability) for the actions of your person that affect ANOTHER person.

If they did then you would be right mandated general liability insurance would be equivalent to mandated auto liability insurance.

[Richard D]

4. The only auto insurance that is mandated . . .

. . . at least in California, is liability for damage you might do to the property or body of others. Insurance on your own car and your own body is not required.

[ejpoeta]

6. if you buy a new car then you have to have comprehensive, but that is not mandated by

the state.... that would be a mandate of the finance company if I am not mistaken.

[Statistical]

10. That is correct... it is a condition of the loan.

Once again the insurance isn't to protect you but rather to protect others (the finance companies asset = your car).

If someone wants to avoid that insurance they simply need to purchase all their vehicle in full.

[Richard D]

30. Right . . .

. . . if you buy a new car for cash you're not required to have any insurance other than liability. Not very wise, but possible.

[ejpoeta]

39. I know that we have a nice big car payment every month. so we most definitely have

comprehensive on our car. We have had it on cars in the past that we weren't making payments on... but not many of them.... but most of the cars we had were what you would call throw away cars. this is the first new car we've ever gotten.... and it better last for a very long time!!

[cdsilv]

7. Like others say, liability is what is mandated & it covers harm that you

do to others.

Health insurance isn't really insurance, it's health-care financing w/a little catastrophic insurance thrown in.

There is no guarantee that you'll ever make a claim against your auto-insurance. It is pretty much certain that you will make claims against health insurance.

The real reason for mandated purchase of private insurance is to protect the insurance cos. against the coming retirement of the baby boomers and their move from private (for profit) insurance to medicare (single-payer, non-profit).

You'll hear all sorts of other reasons but this is the real one.

[Statistical]

15. Never thought about that.

Insurance rolls will shrink naturally as the baby boomers age into medicare.
Current % of insured is not enough to keep up with that demographic change.

Mandated insurance helps to take the sting out of the lower insurance rolls.

[Statistical]

8. Auto insurance on YOUR auto is not mandated, you are purchasing insurance for NEGLIGENCE

You are mandated to purchase LIABILITY insurance to protect OTHER from your NBGLIGENCE.

Insurance on YOUR auto (collision & comprehension) are OPTIONAL.
Seeing the difference now?

I have some libertarian friends that believe they should be able to drive without insurance I say fine and propose this libertarian scenario to them.....

"You drive without insurance and cause $500,000 damages to me. I can legally place a lein on your life earnings. I get all the equity in your home, all your stocks, all your assets to pay the debt. If you still owe some after that I get 20% of your tax home pay until the debt it paid off or you die. If you don't pay it off (with interest) in your lifetime, it passes to your estate. To ensure that it is paid off in your estate a life insurance policy is taken on the remaining balance (reduced each year as you pay it down) paid for by you with me as the beneficiary."

Strangely none of them want to agree to a system like that. Libertarians want the lack of mandate without the responsibility that comes with it. Until a system is devised without insurance that guarantees payment from your negligence you should be required to purchase insurance on something like an auto where negligence is rampant and billions of dollars in damages occur every single year, year after year.

[Winterblues]

33. But you are MANDATED to have seat belts or a Helmet if you ride a motorcycle.

I think both of those as a sort of Insurance that is mandated. Neither of those are meant to protect others..Unless you bring in the argument that others may have to pay your hospital bill and then you are using the same argument to mandate health Insurance..

[Statistical]

34. Well personally I disagree with mandated seat belts & helpmets.

They are rarely enforced anyways other than to get some extra revenue when the LEO pulls you over for something else.

[doc03]

9. That brings up another question. If everyone is required

to have auto liability insurance why in the hell do I have to pay for Uninsured/Underinsured motorists coverage?

edit for spelling

[Statistical]

13. Because not everyone does.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage is relatively cheap for the protection you get.

Even if insurance compliance was 100% for legal drivers you would still be at risk.

Take say a punk kid (19 years old) driving a stolen car totals your car (which you owe on) and injures your entire family.
Turns out the kid has no assets. Nothing not even $20 in the checking account. Would you want to me on the road without uninsured motors coverage at that point?

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

11. Because in our culture

things (property) are more important than people......

[Statistical]

14. It has nothing to do with property.

LIABILITY insurance insures YOUR NEGLIGENCE and the outcome of that negligence including death, and lifetime medical costs as well as porperty.

[Fumesucker]

12. Auto insurance isn't mandated..

As long as you keep your car on private property you are not required to have insurance on it.

Only when you bring the car onto public roads is insurance a mandate.

[gristy]

16. Analogy does not work. I believe one need only insure one's liability.

You is not required to insure your own auto should an accident occur.

[FarCenter]

17. Mandating health insurance is to protect others, not you

If you get sick or injured and require medical care, it will be provided to you.

However, if you don't have health insurance, then the other people who carry health insurance or have money to pay their bills are charged more to pay for your care.

Therefore, mandating health insurance protects others from having to pay for your medical care.

Of course, we could adopt the alternative that if you are uninsured and can't pay out-of-pocket, you don't get medical care. In fact, I think that would be the better approach, but there are too many wussy people who wouldn't go for it.

[Fumesucker]

20. A person dies every 12 minutes in the USA because they lack health care..

That's 45,000 a year..

Cranio-rectal inversion, it's not just for wingnuts any more.

[FarCenter]

25. A person dies every 3 minutes in the USA due to medical mistakes and hospital infections

That's 200,000 a year.

[Fumesucker]

36. So?

There are more insured than uninsured..

You claimed that the only reason for mandates was to protect those who already had insurance.

I showed that claim to be false..

[DireStrike]

45. Is this sarcasm?

People should be killed for being poor? I think you are on the wrong site.

[Uben]

18. You are not required to own a car..........

..but you are required to live, if you are alive!

[kentuck]

19. So, basically...

Most folks disagree with the President that healthcare should be "mandated" for those that do not have it?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

23. I think most folks think it should be mandated - just not forced-private-for-profit.

I heard a great analogy yesterday: It's like trying to solve the homeless problem by forcing homeless people to buy homes. Or forcing them to buy homes and subsidizing the home to just barely above what they can afford.

[Statistical]

35. No they disagree with your flawed car insurance comparison. n/t

[DireStrike]

48. You are correct.

The only way people would agree with it is if it was heavily subsidized, there were guaranteed to be truly good options, and there was a strong government option in case you didn't want to be forced to support a worthless bloodsucking corporation.

I doubt a single one of those things will make it through in the final bill. We will have watered-down subsidies that do not cover enough people (and which will never be properly adjusted for inflation), terrible insurance options with high costs and co-pays, that cover very little and refuse to pay for what they do cover, and at the best a weak public option designed to fail, so they can point at it and say "See liberals, we tried your thing! It didn't work!"

[slackmaster]

22. Auto insurance is required only if you wish to drive on public roads

i.e. you want to register your car.

[Ruby the Liberal]

27. Some people can go a lifetime without filing an auto claim

Can you say the same for never needing a Doctor or a prescription?

I didn't think so.

[Laelth]

28. Vomit. Blame the victims of this failed health care system, why not? n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[johnnie]

32. A car is still considered a luxury

That's why I think they can mandate insurance.

[Romulox]

37. Wouldn't it be easier (and just as logical) to mandate that people never get sick?

Perhaps we should mandate that people not be poor else face a fine, too?

[emulatorloo]

38. I think there is confusion. Only people who can afford health insurance will be mandated. People

who can't afford it will be provided with healthcare in some way.

There wil be safeguards in place (public option, regulation) that will make sure basic insurance coverage truly is affordable.

Many here seem to think that people who can't afford healthcare will be fined and punished. That is not true.

I think also some people assume the Baucus bill is going to be passed as is or something. There are 4 or 5 bills out there in congress to be worked with. Kennedy's committee (now headed by Harkin, who truly is one of the most liberal Senators in congress) for example has a bill. The Baucus bill is a joke, it is not going to go forward as it is.

[cdsilv]

41. Define 'afford'.....

I could probably afford alot if I were to eat beans n' rice at every meal....

[Romulox]

42. You're wrong. EVERYONE will be mandated to obtain insurance.

The government promises to defray the costs of this insurance for some.

[DireStrike]

46. Until inflation kicks in.

Then the poor will have to pay half of their income for insurance, and the subsidy levels will stay exactly the same. Take that, middle class!

[UTUSN]

40. K&R to undo the UnReKKK, but it didn't work!1 n/t

[xultar]

51. Seriously.

[DireStrike]

44. I'm sure it's been said, but I'll say it again because it's SO DAMN OBVIOUS

You can choose to drive. You cannot choose to live.

Also health insurance is MUCH more expensive.

Also car insurance is by state, and not a federal issue.

[branders seine]

47. and mortgage insurance

and disabilityinsurance

and renter's insurance

and flood insurance

and lost car keys insurance

and burnt supper insurance

and...

[Johonny]

49. of course it should be mandated!

The real questions is how do we pay for it and should people make a profit on the health coverage? Since as many people point out you could choose not to own a car etc...

I'm shocked when I hear liberals crying that health care coverage shouldn't be an universal mandate.

[yurbud]

50. I would not object to a mandate if no sex was involved

[yurbud]

52. Any mandate would have to be tied to strict price controls and regulation of insurance industry or..

it will be a gift to them, rewarding their sociopathic behavior.

We should be putting insurance execs on trial for premeditated murder, then outsourcing their prison sentences (or executions) to China.