Colorado insurers say health care bill would lead to "system collapse"

Executives, who critics say are using scare tactics, contend proposed penalties for opting out are too low.
By Jennifer Brown
The Denver Post
10/19/2009

Colorado insurance executives, cautious supporters of health care reform throughout the past year, are now warning that current proposals could cause a "system collapse."
At issue are what insurance companies consider absurdly low penalties for people who choose not to buy health insurance.

Their concern: People will buy insurance only when they desperately need it, such as after they're diagnosed with cancer or heart disease.

Healthy people might choose to pay the penalty, now proposed at a few hundred dollars per year, because it is far less expensive than buying insurance. the rest