What happens the day after HCR is signed into law?
I've been trying to find a timeline of the things that would change once the health care reform bill is signed into law with no luck.
What I want to know is: How does the bill prevent an immediate yet temporal 'death-spiral' in the system?
If signed into law, the bill would make sure that no one could be denied of insurance for pre-existing conditions. To prevent a 'death-spiral' the law also mandates that everyone should have health insurance (and those who cannot afford it get help from the government). But, how long do people have to buy health insurance as mandated? and, what stops people with health insurance from dropping it until they must get it again? If someone is paying $1,000 a month for health insurance but is not required to have health insurance until a year after the bill gets signed into law, it would be tempting to pocket those $12,000 and get the insurance once it is mandated.
I assume that the bill takes care of this scenario, but you know what happens when you assume.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely support the bill (only because universal health care and the public option seem very unlikely). I just would like to see a HCR Specs Sheet.
