scrubbedexpat099

IRS no longer enforcing Obamacare individual mandate, report says | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Not sue how trustworthy the source is.

Pulaski

Well that would pretty much guarantee that fewer people will be insured and that most, if not all, of the insurers will withdraw from offering ACA coverage.

robin1234

Well, so long as Congress and President Trump have something better to rollout in place of the ACA, that'll be OK.

Giantaxe

Which is presumably the intent of Trump's presidential order about easing ACA regulations...

scrubbedexpat099

It was an easy fix to one particularly disliked aspect.

Giantaxe

What do you think the consequence of removing the mandate will be?

scrubbedexpat099

the people who need affordable care will continue to buy it, those who decide they do not will not be penalised.

Giantaxe

How do you think that would work out for insurance companies?

Pulaski

Per post #2, above.

Giantaxe

Indeed, it was a rhetorical question...

scrubbedexpat099

Many of them have already pulled out, for most of Colorado there is no choice, only one player. So for most Insurance Companies, no change.

Giantaxe

Around 16m get insurance from an ACA marketplace. For those insurance companies that insure those 16m, how do you think it will work out if the mandate is removed and healthier individuals decide not to get insurance?

scrubbedexpat099

I would expect there to be fewer and fewer Insurers with or without this change.
It would be reasonable to suppose that some of those currently significantly over charged may decide not to buy so their over payments to the system will be lost.

Looking at the overall picture I would not expect it to be significant.

From an actuarial perspective I have wondered how you can factor in the level of cross subsidy when you are reliant on tax penalties to persuade potential customers to over pay. I doubt very many potential customers even try and calculate the balance point, more a gut issue, how do you factor that?

Giantaxe

I certainly agree that for the ACA to work it needs a more forceful mandate than what was done. But the reality is that some other countries have quite successfully used the "mandatory insurance" model to achieve near universal coverage. Unless and until the US has some form of meaningful mandate, it'll never get close to emulating those countries in coverage. And I very much suspect what we'll end up with will push us in the opposite direction with those that have pre-existing conditions ending up with exorbitant premiums or limited/no coverage.

scrubbedexpat099

I keep on reading that the NHS is the envy of the world but nobody seems sufficiently envious to copy it.

I am reasonably certain nobody will copy ACA. Put a fiver on it.