ChanieE:Economics – that just the way insurance works: by spreading costs among more people. If only sick people buy insurance then the insurance plan will have to pay a lot, so each participant will have to pay a lot. If many people, including young, healthy people, buy a plan, the plan won’t have to pay as much per participant but all participants still get something of value. The people who get sick get their bills paid, while the people who don’t get sick have the peace of mind of knowing that in case they get sick, they will have their bills paid. Because the overall costs are borne by a larger group, the cost per participant is lower so people who are less likely to need health care are still likely to buy insurance.
But it would not be more people. If anything, if the employer is paying the premiums, every employee is being paid for, including the young healthy ones, whereas if it we’re people buying as individuals, many would opt out.