John McClaughry: A state health insurance purchase mandate?

Editor’s note: This commentary is by John McClaughry, the vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute.The House and Senate health care committee chairs in Montpelier are pondering new adventures in health care policy for 2018. High on their list is a Vermont individual insurance mandate.
The mandate to purchase government-approved insurance has had a four-year run in Washington. It was made a cornerstone of Obamacare because older people are sicker than young people. If health insurance pr