The individual mandate is arguably one of the least popular provisions of the Obamacare, the health reform law that was enacted in 2010. Obamacare has received considerable attention in the past few years because of rising health insurance premiums. The rising health insurance premiums were at the center of the 2016 U.S. presidential elections campaign. Following President Trump’s election, Republican lawmakers have moved swiftly to repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate. GOP senators are trying to repeal the individual mandate based on the argument that it would give them an extra $338 billion over 10 years for their proposed tax cuts (Luhby, 2017). Additionally, repealing this provision would also fulfill Republican lawmakers’ vow to dismantle Obamacare. Repealing and removing the individual health insurance mandate would have significant impacts on the costs of health insurance and the healthcare system.
The Case of the Individual Mandate
The individual health insurance mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare as its commonly known is one of the most controversial health care issues in the United States over the past few years. The controversy surrounding this issue comes at a time when a major change is happening in the U.S. health care industry. Trump Administration have set their focus on dismantling Obamacare through repealing and/or replacing some of its provisions. The individual mandate has been singled-out as one of the major provisions to repeal as part of measures to dismantle the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. GOP senators are trying to repeal...
Efforts to repeal this provision have also been fueled by the substantial uncertainty on its effectiveness in improving health insurance coverage in the U.S.
The initial concept behind the individual mandate was that the larger health care industry would be effectively served if all individuals paid into the system. The mandate required every American to purchase his/her own health insurance or risk a penalty if they are not covered by a government program like Medicare/Medicaid or by their employer. While the argument that repealing this provision would generate an additional $338 billion for the proposed tax cuts is true, removing this provision would have significant impacts on health insurance coverage and the entire health care system.
The removal of the individual mandate would make the ACA market to lean towards older and sicker consumers by eliminating the requirement for younger and healthier Americans to sign up for health insurance coverage. Consequently, health insurance providers would be forced to re-evaluate the effectiveness of participating in these exchanges given that they would still be required to cover pre-existing conditions without extra charges based on the individual’s medical history. This would in turn contribute to decline in enrolment, which could generate significant challenges for the relatively weak individual and small group health insurance. Removal of this provision would also…
