Murkowski, A Key GOP Swing Vote, Signals Support For Repealing Individual Mandate
A spokesperson for Sen. Lisa Murkowski said that the comments should not be construed as support for the Republicans' tax bill. Meanwhile, the American Academy of Actuaries is warning Congress against repealing the mandate, and health care leaders watch with trepidation as vote on measure nears.
The Washington Post:
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski Announces Support For Repealing Individual Mandate, A Potential Boost To Tax Overhaul
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she would support repealing the Affordable Care Act’s individual insurance mandate, giving a potential boost to the Republican effort to pass a massive tax cut package next week. “I believe that the federal government should not force anyone to buy something they do not wish to buy, in order to avoid being taxed,” Murkowski wrote in an opinion piece published Tuesday by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. (Paletta, 11/21)
Politico:
Murkowski Says She Backs Obamacare Mandate Repeal
Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she supports GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, the Alaska Republican wrote in an op-ed for a local newspaper Friday. "I have always supported the freedom to choose," Murkowski wrote in her op-ed for the Daily News-Miner, an Alaska newspaper. "I believe that the federal government should not force anyone to buy something they do not wish to buy, in order to avoid being taxed." (Diamond, 11/21)
The Hill:
Murkowski Backs Repealing ObamaCare Mandate In Boost To Tax Reform
Murkowski, a key moderate swing vote, wrote in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that she supports giving people additional freedom by repealing the mandate, which requires people to have insurance or pay a fine. "Repealing the individual mandate simply restores to people the freedom to choose," Murkowski wrote. "Nothing else about the structure of the ACA would be changed." (Sullivan, 11/21)
The Hill:
Actuaries Warn Congress Mandate Repeal Would Increase Premiums
The American Academy of Actuaries is warning Congress against repealing ObamaCare’s individual mandate in tax reform, saying the move could lead to higher premiums and insurers leaving the market. The group warned in a letter to Congress on Tuesday against repealing the mandate in tax reform, as Senate Republicans propose. (Sullivan, 11/21)
Modern Healthcare:
Looming Senate Tax Bill Vote Making Healthcare Leaders Uneasy
Health system leaders face post-Thanksgiving indigestion as Senate GOP leaders race toward a floor vote on their sweeping tax-cut bill before the end of November. Not-for-profit executives are concerned the Senate bill would hurt hospital capital financing by prohibiting advance re-funding of prior tax-exempt bond issues, which made up about 25% of the municipal tax-exempt bond market in 2017. (Meyer, 11/21)
The New York Times:
Obamacare Sign-Ups Are Surging, But There’s A Twist
Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to scale back the health law, about 300,000 more people have signed up for health insurance in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces in the first weeks of this enrollment period than last year. (Park, 11/21)