Discussion Question: The Uninsured
After reading about the characteristics of the uninsured, do you think these characteristics are interrelated, or should they be addressed separately from a policy perspective? If you are trying to reduce the number of uninsured, do you believe the focus should be on altering insurance programs or changing the effect of having one or more of these characteristics?
Whose responsibility is it to reduce the number of uninsured? Government? The private sector? Individuals? Some combination of the government, the private sector, and individuals?
Why does an employer mandate not achieve universal coverage? What did the ACA add to the employer mandate in an attempt to achieve its goal of universal coverage? Did it achieve its goal? Why or why not?