re: #248 Desert Dog

Is this to insure a revenue stream? Or is it just the there to make sure you have insurance?

It is to make sure you have insurance. That is mandatory in Mass now, unless you make too much for the subsidized coverage but too little for unsubsidized coverage. (It was supposed to be universal, but the insurance companies couldn’t deliver on the rates they promised during the hearings and the state didn’t allocate enough money to subsidize coverage for everyone.)
BTW, you lose the personal exemption of around $2600 if you don’t have insurance; companies with 11 or more employees pay $295/year penalty if they don’t offer insurance.
I believe insurance runs under $500/month for a single, young person, to close to $1000 for individual coverage for someone over 50. Last time we needed to buy insurance through the Mass. Bar Association, it was $1200/month for family coverage, but that did not vary with age. And it was a couple of years ago.