Tax Bill passed Senate early Saturday, December 2, 2017
Summary
The tax bill that passed in the Senate early Saturday changes a crucial component of the American healthcare system: the tax penalties enforcing the individual mandate. The individual mandate is a critical to the success of the Affordable Care Act because it requires that all Americans have insurance or pay a tax penalty. Without these healthy people paying into the insurance market, insurers have to raise prices to compensate for the disproportionate number of sick people in the market. This provision drives up premiums and makes health care unaffordable for many Americans. Because this Senate bill is different than the one that passed the House – one of the main differences being the House bill did not repeal the individual mandate – the two chambers of Congress must negotiate, draft one bill and then pass it in both chambers. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has indicated that the House will agree to the repeal of the individual mandate in the final bill. LEARN MORE
Analysis
According to the Congressional Budget Office report, eliminating the individual mandate tax penalty could result in as many as 13 million people losing insurance in 2027 and driving premiums up by 10% per year. Interestingly, the states most negatively affected by this policy are Republican states, including Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming. In most counties in these states, citizens may not have any option for affordable insurance. Congress is trying to slip this unfavorable healthcare law into the tax plan because it failed to pass healthcare policy on its own. Americans around the country will feel the effects of this policy if it passes in the House and many people will lose their insurance coverage. LEARN MORE
Engagement Resources
- Resist the new tax plan with Not One Penny.
- As always, contact your state’s elected officials and voice your concerns or support.
This brief was compiled by Ann Furbush. If you have comments or want to add the name of your organization to this brief please contact Ann@usresistnews.org.
