So as a 'conservative' you see no issue with the government requiring you to spend your money on something that you may or may not need?
I don't go to the doctor. Ever. I finally broke down from needling from my friends and went for a physical. It had been about 9-10 years since my last. Lo and behold the doctor said I was in excellent health. Hit all the marks and in most cases (cholesterol, BP, heart rate) below the average. But you would require me to spend money every year for 10 years on a service I don't use. To overpay a doctor that would have to charge considerably less if left to the free market. Thanks but no thanks. I believe in personal responsibility which is why I ate right, exercised, etc. without a doctor sticking and poking me every other year.
The government takes enough money from me on the front end in taxation to pay for the ever increasing bureaucracy and international empire. I don't need them requiring me to spend the rest of my money on something I will not use. Now as the time comes I get older and I feel a pang or two, I'll sign up for insurance. And pay a higher rate because of my age. But that's my business. Not yours and definitely not the Suit's business
And people wonder why conservatives and libertarians don't want to bother voting for a party that threatens their wallets just as much as the Democrats...
An opt-out would be ideal, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.
Unless you're immortal, you need health insurance. There's always a positive probability that you will get seriously ill, get in an accident, etc. and need medical care to either save your life or restore its quality.
Just because you've been lucky so far and haven't needed it doesn't mean you won't in the future.
And the odds are that at some point in the future you will.
If you only buy health insurance when you think you will have to spend a lot on healthcare, it's no longer insurance.
I don't go to the doctor. Ever.
Odds are you at some point in your life will, and then the medical bills will be higher than what you can afford on your own. Of course, the ER won't be able to turn you away, in which case you will be able to declare bankruptcy and stick the taxpayers with the bill.
I finally broke down from needling from my friends and went for a physical. It had been about 9-10 years since my last. Lo and behold the doctor said I was in excellent health. Hit all the marks and in most cases (cholesterol, BP, heart rate) below the average. But you would require me to spend money every year for 10 years on a service I don't use.
You don't seem to understand the concept of insurance.
Let the finance professor explain it to you: the point is to protect yourself against a very costly but low probability event.
Insurance is not payment for a service you use regularly. You don't "use" your fire insurance or auto insurance often. If you do, it's no longer insurance.