>>As I see it it's pretty simple. People who can afford to pay for their medical care should just pay for it.

And everybody should stop fighting so there can be world peace. ;-)

>>If they're afraid of losing accumulated wealth because of a large medical bill, they should insure against that risk.
>>For those who can't afford to pay for their medical care, states should make provisions, aided by federal money if available.
>>What's wrong with that?

You mean apart from hundreds of thousands of middle class families who were insured until dad got sick, nevertheless losing their homes and assets? We can't rely on theory, only on what happened in real life up to and during the ACA. If you have any compassion for those families, you must know why the ACA sought to prevent ruination caused by loss of cover. That means guaranteed coverage and no pre-existing exclusions. Which in turn requires individual mandate. Round and round we go.