Congress passes tax bill with ACA mandate repeal

GOP lawmakers in both the House and Senate passed a tax cut bill that includes a repeal of the ACA’s individual mandate to purchase health insurance (Source: “Federal Tax Bill, Individual Mandate Repeal Passes House and Senate,” Health Payer Intelligence, Dec. 20, 2017).  

The bill now heads back to the House for a procedural vote and afterwards to the desk of President Trump.

The Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Tax Committee have estimated that a repeal of the mandate could increase the number of uninsured individuals by 13 million from 2018 to 2027 and decrease the federal deficit by $338 billion dollars. The organizations determined that repealing the individual mandate would lower federal deficits, but possibly at the expense of health insurance enrollment.