Under Obamacare, there’s a new class of uninsured, and it begins with those choosing to pay the individual mandate penalty instead of buying government-ordered health care.
In 2015, 19.2 million taxpayers elected to pay the mandate penalty or claim a hardship exemption. It’s true: 6.5 million individuals paid the penalty while an additional 12.7 claimed a hardship exemption, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In contrast, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that 10.4 million individuals enrolled in an Obamacare exchange plan through the first half of 2016.
But that’s not the whole story. The individual mandate is also failing to move younger, healthier Americans to buy health insurance, which is contributing to Obamacare’s “death spiral." Of those taxpayers sidestepping the individual mandate, 45 percent of them were under the age of 35.
Obamacare’s one-size-fits-all mandates and fines aren’t working. There’s A Better Way to provide all Americans access to quality, affordable health care.
