Washington, D.C. — The Center for American Progress estimates that a so-called skinny repeal bill would raise marketplace premiums an extra $1,238 next year by repealing of the coverage mandate.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that repeal of the individual mandate would result in 15 million fewer Americans having health insurance a decade from now. By 2026, about 15 percent of the nonelderly population, or 43 million Americans, would be uninsured. The CBO also projects that premiums in the individual market would increase by “roughly 20 percent relative to premiums under current law.”
“Repeal of the mandate would immediately harm the individual market, raising the average marketplace premium by $1,238 and driving insurers to exit the market,” said Emily Gee, health economist at CAP. “More worryingly, Republicans may use a skinny repeal bill as vehicle for additional damaging proposals like those we’ve seen before, including deep cuts to Medicaid and repeal of consumer protections.”
Even if the House and Senate bills went to a conference committee and the bill did not become law until later this year, the legislation would still immediately destabilize the individual market because the deadlines for insurers to set final 2018 rates are a few weeks away.
Click here to read “Consumers would have higher premiums and less choice next year under a so-called skinny repeal bill,” by Emily Gee and Thomas Huelskoetter.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Devon Kearns at 202.741.6290 or [email protected].