Looks like some folks in Massachusetts aren't too happy with the new health insurance mandate. The Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority is budgeting 10% of its funds to deal with residents who are appealing their fines for going without health insurance. Around 2,500 people filed appeals this year but the Authority expects about 8,000 to appeal this year. Why? The fine for not having insurance is scheduled to go up.

Interestingly, the idea that this mandated insurance may cost too much for some people (maybe those who are appealing their fines?) doesn't seem to matter to the board members:

the board is considering regulations that would set a minimum standard for what kind of coverage individuals must buy, and members said that probably would also raise the price of coverage.

If this mandated product is already costing too much for some, is it really a good idea to raise its price even further? This situation is just another example of how the Massachusetts Plan is fundamentally flawed and why top-down solutions (as opposed to consumer-directed solutions) to our health care problems just won't work.