State laws requiring consumers to buy medical insurance may be as ineffective as state laws requiring motorists to buy auto insurance.
Analysts at the National Center for Policy Analysis, Dallas, a group that is skeptical of government intervention in the marketplace, write in a paper on the issue that most U.S. states require drivers to own automobile insurance, while Massachusetts is the only state that requires residents to own health coverage.
The percentage of U.S. residents without health coverage is about 16%. Roughly 13% of U.S. drivers lack auto coverage.
The fact that the figures are so close suggests that state mandates may not have much effect on drivers’ decision to buy auto insurance, the NCPA analysts write.