New Jersey Lawmakers Want Health Insurance Mandate Back
Feb. 16--TRENTON -- The bill's supporters say the move will help stabilize health insurance premiums, even though it takes on one of the Affordable Care Act's most unpopular provisions.
"Restoring the penalty is one of the most cost-effective ways that we can reduce premiums," said Raymond Castro, director of health policy for New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning research group.
State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, and Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Essex, introduced the bills earlier this week, putting New Jersey on a growing list of states that are trying to restore the health insurance mandate.
The mandate requires most Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty -- either 2.5 percent of their household income or $695 per adult and $347.50 per child, whichever is greater. It was repealed beginning in 2019 as part of the tax law that was signed by President Donald Trump in December. Watch a video of the president praising the bill at the top of this story.
About 189,000 New Jerseyans paid the penalty in 2015, New Jersey Policy Perspective said.
Critics of the repeal said it has unintended consequences: healthy consumers would skip on insurance, which would cause premiums to increase as much as 10 percent a year. Maryland, California and a handful of other states are considering restoring the penalty, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The New Jersey bill, narrowly approved Thursday by the Senate Commerce Committee, would require every taxpayer in the Garden State to have health insurance or pay the tax to the state instead of the federal government.
Some interest groups, while supporting the idea, had questions. For example, the bill would exempt individuals who can't afford coverage from the penalty. But it isn't clear what would be considered affordable.
"Our support is qualified because a mandate should only exist when coupled with adequate subsidies to ensure affordability," the New Jersey Association of Health Plans, which represents insurance companies, said in a statement.
Michael L. Diamond; @mdiamondapp; 732-643-4038; [email protected]
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