As the new year rapidly approaches, there has been considerable discussion and confusion about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision requiring most Americans to either have health insurance beginning in 2014 or face a penalty (often called the “Individual Mandate”). A significant part of that confusion concerns the state and federal timelines and deadlines for obtaining coverage.
Although the Individual Mandate has never enjoyed broad popularity, since most people don’t like to be told what to spend their money on, it’s a necessary underpinning of the compromise approach used in the ACA. Without the requirement that all Americans get health insurance, it wouldn’t be possible to accomplish other significant and generally well-liked insurance reforms that are included in the ACA, such as the rule that insurance companies can’t deny someone coverage due to a pre-existing condition and the elimination of annual and lifetime limits.
In light of the current political divide, it’s interesting to note that the Individual Mandate was originally a Republican notion that was promoted by the conservative Heritage Foundation and first ushered into implementation by Governor Mitt Romney, as part of the very successful Massachusetts law that served as the model for the ACA. Now, the tables have turned and many Republicans are advocating that the Individual Mandate be delayed for one year while many others want it repealed altogether (along with the rest of the ACA).