Modern Healthcare quoted Manatt’s Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health, in an article examining how the new GOP tax proposal could impact health insurers.
The publication explained that the proposal would cut the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that individuals who do not enroll in an insurance plan pay a financial penalty. Some insurers are concerned that the repeal of this mandate could force them to hike their rates in order to stay in business.
According to Ario, a repeal of the individual mandate would lead insurers to demand other ways to stabilize the insurance market. While states could impose their own individual mandate penalties, it could be hard to gather political support for an ACA provision that was so unpopular.
“There will be many insurers, if not most insurers, talking about reconsidering their participation in 2019,” said Ario. “[A]s that settles in, the pressure on Congress to approve a reinsurance fund will increase.”