Repeal of individual mandate could raise Nebraska premiums [View all]

Nebraska residents could see their health insurance premiums spike in future years now that Congress has gutted the legal requirement to purchase coverage, but advocates say it's too early to know how much prices could rise.

The individual mandate was effectively repealed under the Republican congressional tax plan signed by President Donald Trump, who called it "the core of disastrous Obamacare" in his State of the Union speech last week.

The mandate was a key part of the Affordable Care Act because it required all residents to buy coverage or pay a tax penalty. Congressional Republicans ended the tax penalty, rendering it toothless.

Nebraska groups that support the law said they're concerned that without the mandate, healthy people who help subsidize everyone's coverage will leave their plans, resulting in higher premiums for those who remain.

Read more: http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/repeal-of-individual-mandate-could-raise-nebraska-premiums/article_60a76be5-c636-542a-aeae-fd47692b9fb9.html#tracking-source=home-the-latest