admin
California already makes life expensive. Now the state also makes being young expensive. The state-level health insurance mandate forces many young Californians to buy coverage they can’t afford or face a penalty from the Franchise Tax Board. That’s not compassion. It’s coercion dressed up as policy.
Mandate punishes young Californians, not the system
Young people in California earn less than most realize. The average Gen Z salary in the state is roughly $49,000. Rent and basic costs eat a big piece of that. Telling a young person to pay high monthly premiums or take a tax penalty is tone-deaf. The mandate is sold as a way to keep premiums stable. In practice it acts like a fine for being broke and not fitting a policy template.
Mandates don’t fix affordability — they paper over it
Advocates claim the individual mandate stops only-sick people from flooding the market. Fine. But a mandate doesn’t make hospitals cheaper. It doesn’t cut the price of drugs. It doesn’t lower rent. Laws that force people to buy overpriced plans only widen the gap between intent and reality. Instead of forcing coverage, lawmakers should lower costs. That means more plan choices, real competition, permitting cross-state options, and allowing low-cost catastrophic plans for younger adults.
Politics over practical reform
Governor Gavin Newsom and others defend the mandate as a market stabilizer and a tool for subsidizing coverage. That’s a political shortcut. Collecting penalties to fund subsidies is not the same as fixing the underlying problem: health care and insurance costs that keep rising. If lawmakers want to help young Californians, they should focus on deregulation that encourages competition, protect low‑cost plan options, and expand clear, income-based exemptions instead of slapping fines on people who are already tight on cash.
Stop forcing — start fixing
Repeal or narrow the mandate for young adults and replace it with sensible options: accessible catastrophic plans, stronger consumer choice, and targeted subsidies that actually reduce monthly bills. If Sacramento truly cares about affordability, it will stop punishing the young and start making the market competitive. Until then, telling young Californians to pick up a premium or pay a penalty looks less like policy and more like extortion with a budget line item.
