In broad brush strokes, the U.S. plan is most similar to the plan that's currently in place in Switzerland. In the Swiss plan, there's something of a basic coverage plan that's state mandated, with identical prices from every insurance vendor. They then compete to offer you extras on top of that. If hospitalized, do you want a private room versus a shared room? Pay a little more now, get better service later.

To my mind, there are two big unknowns in the U.S. plan:

- Will insurance premiums go up, due to the new requirements imposed by the government, people voluntarily dropping their coverage, and/or insurance companies cooking their books to justify premium increases? The whole financial balance of the system depends on mandatory insurance, yet the mandatory bit doesn't kick in for several years. It's interesting to ponder how insurance companies may try to game the system, and how the system might respond.

- Will the new plan pass constitutional muster? Lawsuits are already being planned to challenge the legality of various aspects of the new system.

I'm also curious the extent to which this will play out politically for the balance of power in Congress. My guess is that there will be a shift toward Republicans, but that the Democrats will retain their majorities. And, while I'm curious about politics, I'm curious if the Republicans will play the same "sky is falling" card for every Democratic initiative over the next year, and whether that will continue to work for them.