Democrats Forcing Mandatory Health Care “Tax”

By Jason Leopold

Nearly a year after Democrats introduced legislation to reform the health care industry – first by flirting with the prospect of having a government-run program to compete with private insurers and then floating a proposal to expand Medicare to a younger demographic – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that Congress is ready to vote on a final bill as early as next week that doesn’t include either of those plans.

The legislation will expand health care coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans, but it also includes a mandate requiring Americans to purchase health insurance or face a penalty. The measure does not have the support of a single Republican, and in recent days some progressive and conservative Democrats have been on the fence about whether or not they will support the legislation when it comes up for a vote.