Somebody: There's a weird libertarianism which has infected the left on this issue. Is forcing people to buy health insurance, with the assistance of significant subsidies, worse than the status quo? Only if you buy into the libertarian notion that Americans should be free to choose or not choose to buy and sell products and services as they see fit.
Of course, I'm also in favor of increased consumption taxes on junk food, so I have no truck with libertarianism. Both the health care bill and a tax on Big Macs would produce an improvement in the overall health of the population.