The net effect will be to lock in the legacy insurance plans, handing the market the existing players.

FORBES: Obamacare Regs Obama Plans to Ignore

The industry's image has been dented in recent years, with concerns over lock-in clauses, endowment mortgages and overpriced home insurance tied to mortgages.

BBC: cash machine

Further, successful reform would reduce the phenomenon of "job lock, " in which workers are reluctant to leave a job with employer-sponsored health insurance out of fear that they will not be able to find affordable coverage.

WHITEHOUSE: THE WHITE HOUSE