Dive Brief:
- The House voted in favor of a bill Tuesday that would exempt enrollees of failed health insurance co-ops from the ACA's individual mandate, the Ways and Means committee tweeted.
- The CO-OP Consumer Protection Act by Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) had GOP backing, and was said to have brought somewhat lukewarm Democratic opposition during an earlier committee session on the bill.
- The White House, meanwhile, had warned earlier Tuesday that it would veto the measure should it land on the president's desk, because it was unnecessary given that former co-op enrollees could either enroll in a new plan or request a hardship exemption if no other options were affordable.
Dive Insight:
The argument centers on whether those who experienced coverage disruptions upon the failure of most of the ACA co-ops should have to pay a financial penalty for lacking coverage if they fail to enroll in a new plan.
This particular legislation comes amid other GOP-led attempts to chip away at the individual mandate in light of the dwindling options many consumers will be seeing in the marketplaces. One measure from Sen. John McCain would exempt people if their county has fewer than two choices. A measure from Sen. Tom Cotton would exempt people if premiums in their state have risen by an average of more than 10%. Another proposed by Sen. Lamar Alexander would extend ACA subsidies to plans outside the exchanges, as well as waive the individual mandate, in states with little competition.
The impact of such moves could further hurt the marketplaces, however, by removing the incentive for healthy people to enroll in ACA coverage rather than trying to wait until they get sick, further worsening the already expensive risk pool that has driven numerous payers from participation.
The legislation “would create a bad precedent for using exemptions from the individual-responsibility provision to address unrelated concerns about the Affordable Care Act,” the White House stated.