Mandate Mayhem

It's not foolproof, but forcing [insurers] to engage in really crude, heavily regulated, mostly blunted adverse selection is far better than allowing them to engage in very precise, very effective, and very wide-ranging adverse selection. Meanwhile, Matt's concern that plans will be built unfavorably is already moot -- every mandate plan I know of defines the minimum benefits, mostly in accordance with the Blue Cross/Blue Shield 2007 Standard Plan. There's no real way to undercut that with any ease.