Few provisions within Obamacare have proved less popular than the individual mandate, which requires all Americans to secure insurance or pay a fine. Unfortunately, some Senate Republicans are proposing a replacement that's even worse.
As part of their bid to repeal Obamacare, Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, want to allow states to automatically enroll the uninsured in health plans.
At least Obamacare let people choose whether to buy health insurance or not. Sens. Cassidy and Collins are calling for an even heavier dose of government paternalism, one that would increase federal spending, line the pockets of insurers, and raise premiums.
The Cassidy-Collins plan would provide refundable tax credits that would, in theory, cover the entire premium for a catastrophic health plan — chosen by the government, of course. States would take those credits and ship them directly to insurance companies in return for covering folks who hadn't secured coverage on their own.
Republicans have spent almost a decade decrying Obamacare's individual mandate as big government run amok. For the first time in our nation's history, the federal government ordered all Americans to purchase a specific product.
Auto-enrollment takes federal meddling to new heights. Individuals would no longer have the option of foregoing insurance and paying a fine. Instead, they'd have to affirmatively opt out of their government-approved plan — after they'd already been forced into the system.Read the rest of this IBD op-ed HERE.
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