Survey Projects Nearly 20 Percent Of Those On Individual Market Will Drop Coverage Next Year
When the penalty for not having insurance disappears in 2019, consumers are more likely to go without coverage.
The Modesto Bee:
Fewer Californians Will Be Insured Next Year, And Those Who Are Could Feel The Impact
Almost 20 percent of people with health insurance on the independent market in California will drop coverage next year because they won't face a tax penalty, a survey predicted. The study by Harvard Medical School researchers suggested that 378,000 fewer consumers in California will have insurance in 2019 when the Internal Revenue Service will no longer assess a tax penalty on the uninsured. The random survey of 3,010 adults was conducted in California last year to measure the impact of the federal tax reform law that does away with the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate. The survey results were reported Thursday in an online blog of the journal Health Affairs. (Carlson, 3/1)