Yes, you read that right.  Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article yesterday about a part of the healthcare bill that has not gotten a lot of publicity.  It seems that if you choose not to participate in the government healthcare plan or pay the fine, you can be fined up to $25,000 and be sentenced to up to a year in prison. 

Senator John Ensign (R-NV) asked Thomas Barthold, chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation what would happen if a taxpayer refused to buy health insurance and then refused to pay the fine.  Follow this link to Politico.com to see the handwritten note he got back.  This is the equivalent of debtor’s prison.  If you don’t have the money to buy health insurance or pay the fine, you go to jail!

Just one further note of the idea of national health insurance.  I live in Massachusetts, which has a mandatory health insurance program.  Aside from the fact that it has cost much more than what was projected, it has a few wrinkles.  There was a letter to the editor in my local newspaper last week from a woman whose family has had private health insurance for a number of years.  They had an inexpensive policy that covers major illnesses and emergencies, but allows them to pay for routine doctor’s visits, etc.  The premiums are low, and they save a substantial amount of money by having that type of coverage.  They have just heard from the state that their policy does not qualify as health insurance under state guidelines and they will have to change to a more expensive policy to cover things they do not want covered.  This is the risk we all take when we allow the government to meddle in our private insurance coverage.