Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

GOP Health Insurance Alternatives May Wind Up Using Penalties Like The Mandate

NPR: The Affordable Care Act's requirement that people have health insurance or pay a fine is one of the least popular provisions of the law, and one that Republicans have pledged to eliminate when they repeal and replace Obamacare.

But take a look at some of the replacement proposals that are floating around and it becomes clear that the "individual mandate," as it's called, could still exist, but in another guise.

First, though, the health law's mandate doesn't actually require people to have insurance. Instead, it imposes a tax penalty on most people if they don't have coverage. In 2016, the penalty is the greater of $695 per person or 2.5 percent of household income.

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