How Would Repealing the Individual Mandate Affect Enrollment and Premiums?
<p>Many legislative proposals to modify the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would eliminate the “individual mandate,” which requires that most Americans obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. </p><p>In a new analysis for <em>The Commonwealth Fund Blog</em>, Evan Saltzman and Christine Eibner of the RAND Corporation find that repealing the requirement would result in 12.3 million people losing insurance by 2017 and an 8 percent increase in premiums in the individual market, where people buy their own coverage. </p>
<p>“Policymakers seeking to eliminate the individual mandate may need to develop alternative mechanisms for managing costs if they want to avoid these adverse effects,” the authors say.</p>
<p>This post is the first in a series analyzing proposals that seek to change provisions in the ACA.</p>