There are serious questions about generational equity in this proposal. The Government knows that, in the next 10 to 20 years, the baby boomer generation is going to retire and put an unprecedented strain on the health care system. Presumably this is one of the reasons it is so keen to get people into health funds. If young people pay their premiums and make claims, pressure will be taken off the public system. However, this is a peculiar scheme for a Government committed to choice.
People insure against risk.
For the young and healthy, your risk of needing expensive medical care is low and, as a result, you may decide that paying premiums for 20 years and never making a claim is not worth it. You may decide to pay your taxes, rely on the public health system and insure when your risk rises, as you get older. Of course, in the end, the younger generation is going to pay anyway, but at least taxes that fund a public health system vary according to income. Private health care premiums do not. But the flip side of this is that they will be most affected by the penalty system.