Repealing the Individual Health Insurance Mandate: More Freedom, or Less?
<p>Last week, Senate Republicans passed a tax reform package that includes a repeal of the law’s individual health insurance mandate. House Republicans have indicated they will follow suit. </p><p>Since before the Affordable Care Act was passed, the mandate has been portrayed as un-American, anti–free market, and an affront to personal freedom. But in a new post on <em>To the Point</em>, the Commonwealth Fund’s Don Moulds argues that, by helping to keep the health insurance marketplaces sustainable, the mandate actually enhances freedom.</p>
<p>“Having universally available, high-quality health insurance frees us from the fear of being one illness away from financial ruin, from being tethered to a job (or relationship) because it is the only means of coverage, and frees us and our loved ones from the physically or financially disabling effects of an unmanaged illness,” he writes.</p>