I know, I have been working in healthcare since 2001. I have seen the effects of before Medicare-D and the ACA. Removing the ACA is the cruelest most inhumane thing anyone can possibly do. It will result in DEATHS. Free market is fine and can even work in a healthcare environment but this is an inelastic market. By removing the mandate you are making a death sentence for 10000's of people. What happened before the ACA was law was that if someone got sick with any type of illness. There was a pre existing clause that was in effect. What that meant was that if you had diabetes, you lost your job. You have no way to pay for insulin at all after your cobra runs out. If you could afford cobra that is. No one was REQUIRED to sell you a policy. Inusurers are there to make money which is fair, but they are a business not a charity. If they can further there profit motive they will. And healthy patients are great for profits while unhealthy ones hit the bottom line. So what is a business to do to be more profitable? Kick the unhealthy ones out and not insure them. Further removing the mandate makes healthcare more expensive overall becuase the risk pool is smaller and buying power of each insured group is also smaller. This isn't like buying a fucking car. You can survive without a car, but you can't survive with access to MS medications or insulin, or Aids medications or a variety of other medications. Stripping the aca in total and invalidating it is so inhumane that it boggles my mind that anyone can advocate for the complete repeal.