Senate GOP includes repeal of ACA individual mandate in tax reform

Republican leaders in the Senate announced Nov. 14 they will include a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate in their tax reform proposal. After failing numerous times to repeal and replace the ACA, GOP leaders are hoping to include the healthcare reform in the tax bill.

“We’re optimistic that inserting the individual mandate repeal would be helpful,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said after a Tuesday meeting.

An updated analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated repeal of the individual mandate would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 13 million between 2018 and 2027. The move would reduce federal budget deficits by $338 during the same period.

“It’ll be distributed in the form of middle-income tax relief,” Thune said. “It will give us even more of an opportunity to really distribute the relief to those middle-income cohorts who could really benefit from it.”

Some of those plans were projected to destabilize the individual market in some parts of the U.S., which the CBO said wouldn’t happen if the mandate is eliminated.

“Nongroup insurance markets would continue to be stable in almost all areas of the country throughout the coming decade,” the report said.

House GOP leaders are currently deciding whether to include a similar repeal of the individual mandate in their tax bill, with an announcement expected as early as the end of the week.