In a concept in behavorial science, policymakers identify incentives for people to make decisions that are better for them and for society. The key to the approach, called “nudging,” is motivating people to make a particular choice without making them feel a decision was forced on them.

Nestled within a centrist Republican proposal to replace Obamacare is a concept called auto-enrollment that aims to use the nudging principle, and proponents believe it would reduce the number of uninsured while gutting the unpopular individual mandate requiring people to obtain insurance or pay a penalty.