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“The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that repeal of the individual mandate will result in 13 million people becoming uninsured by 2027,” APA and the five other groups said. “Furthermore, repealing the mandate will increase premiums and destabilize the individual and small group markets.”
The five other organizations are the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Osteopathic Association. Together, they represent more than 560,000 physicians and medical students nationwide.
The so-called “individual mandate” requires individuals not otherwise covered by health insurance to buy insurance in the ACA health exchanges or pay a tax penalty. Advocates say that without the mandate to buy health insurance, only the sick would enroll, causing adverse selection and destabilization of insurance markets.
“Our members are the nation’s frontline physicians, providing care to individuals and families in communities large and small, urban and rural,” the groups stated. “They see each day the inherent value of having health care coverage. Health care coverage is the gateway to prevention and wellness and a guardrail in the event of a major health event. Having health care coverage and a continuous relationship with a physician are the two factors that have been proven the world over to increase quality and decrease cost.
“Additionally, increased access to affordable health care coverage is a major reason that bankruptcies related to health care have decreased significantly over the past five years. Health care coverage provides financial security to millions of people and protects them in the most challenging times of their life, especially those that have pre-existing conditions and conditions that require a high intensity of care over their lifetime.
“Our organizations oppose provisions in the Senate tax reform proposal that would repeal policies requiring individuals to purchase health care coverage,” they continued. “Our health care system needs improvements, and our organizations stand ready to work with the Senate to identify bipartisan and impactful reforms that will ensure a robust and competitive health care market. However, according to the Congressional Budget Office, repeal of the individual mandate in this form, absent additional reforms that would stabilize the insurance market, has the potential to raise health insurance premiums by a projected 20 percent and increase the number of uninsured Americans.”
(Image: iStock/Tupungato)