ABSTRACT
The answer to the question posed in the title is uncertain. Nowhere in the United States is affordable and sustainable coverage a hallmark of individual health insurance. To the contrary, the individual market suffers from many inherent weaknesses. It is small, voluntary, expensive, and unsubsidized; it experiences high rates of turnover; and it is vulnerable to adverse selection. In every state, individual coverage is affordable and accessible only for some. In theory, this market could work well for everyone. However, sweeping structural change would be required to make coverage mandatory (or otherwise universal) and much more heavily subsidized than it is today.
