Do We Need the Insurance Mandate of the Affordable Care Act?

The Affordable Care Act requires individuals to purchase health insurance or face penalties from the IRS beginning 2014. The US Supreme Court recently heard arguments as to whether this requirement was constitutional. Regardless of it is constitutionality, the purchase mandate is necessary to the success of the bill in order make health insurance more affordable. Rates will not go down unless more younger, healthier individuals are included in the insurance pool. For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield just raised my personal premium rates by 20%, yet at my last annual physical, I had no new diagnoses, no hospitalizations and no outpatient surgery. Why did they raise my rates? Because I turn 55 years old before the next premium payment is due. Yet the policiticians on both sides say that it is the small business owners such as myself that will hire people and get the ecomony going again. This is not going to happen if we are burderned by increasing health care costs just to maintain the status quo. This country will go bankrupt if health care costs are not put under control. For that reason, the insurance purchase mandate is necessary.