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Any spike in the stock prices of insurance companies will only be temporary until they go bankrupt. The whole purpose of this legislation and subsequent legislation that will be proposed is to put all of the private insurance companies out of business so that the only choice left is the "public option" or government run healthcare.
While this law will make it mandatory to have insurance, the fine for not having it is much less than having it. So the IRS gets to collect the money and the government spends it on whatever they want.
With the inability to deny people due to pre-existing conditions you will be able to wait for purchasing insurance until you need it. Premium caps will probably be set in future legislation and so then you have the worst thing in the world for an insurance company. Nobody purchases insurance until they have huge looming medical bills. It's a sure loss for the companies and they will be bankrupt in no time.
People like to demonize the insurance companies, but it appears that approximately 5% of premiums paid cover all administrative expenses and profits. The other 95% of premiums is redistributed to doctors, hospitals, etc.
President Obama has stated in many speeches, most before he was elected President, that his ultimate goal was single payer, government run and funded healthcare. He also conceded that such drastic change would not be accomplished in one fell swoop but piece by piece. We have just witnessed the first large step.
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