I oppose the mandate on ethical/moral grounds
It is not debatable. The gov't. does not have the right to tell you you have to buy something.
if you read the ruling from the judges who has said the law is constitutional its actually quite interesting. they have said that health care is not a product one chooses to use or not, as every american at some point will use the services of a health care provider. due to this fact, and the fact the health care crosses state lines, the courts ruled that the government has the authority to regulate this market under the commerce clause.
i think a simple fix to this entire debate over the individual mandate could be put into the law and that is a simple exclusion waiver. if an individual does not want to purchase health care from a provider, they must sign a simple waiver, but by signing that waiver they revoke the right to receive any treatment at any time from any doctor without paying for those services in advance, this would include emergency and life saving services provided by EMT's and Emergency Rooms. Thus if you were in a car accident. or had a heart attack or stroke and were rushed to the hospital and did not have coverage you would be left to suffer until it was determined that you could pay for those services. that is the other side of this argument that no one ever talks about. is this a fair trade off if you oppose the mandate?