Indiana Rep. Todd Young on Tuesday introduced legislation that would expand the exemption for individuals facing a penalty under the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, fueling an effort by congressional Republicans to highlight the issue in advance of November’s elections.
“The most popular plans in the marketplace now require Hoosier families to pay, on average, between $6,400 and $11,600 in out-of-pocket deductibles before their coverage kicks in,” Young said in a statement. “Despite its many promises, Obamacare isn’t affordable nor is it working for the average American family.
“Our legislation provides greater financial relief from Obamacare’s individual mandate because the hard-working people we represent don’t deserve to be penalized under a partisan law that’s failed them,” Young said.
The legislation was introduced the same day nine Republican senators joined the Senate’s version of the legislation, introduced by Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton.
The law would enhance an “affordability exemption” from Obamacare’s individual mandate penalty, which will cost $695 per person in the coming year. It would also allow consumers to use health savings accounts for over-the-counter drugs and medical costs, as well as eliminate a 20 percent tax placed on those accounts under Obamacare.
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Republicans are hoping to highlight the issue in the wake of skyrocketing health insurance premiums and the increasingly pricey penalty imposed by the mandate. “Americans can’t afford health insurance because Obamacare increased the price, and now they have to pay a penalty,” Cotton told the Washington Examiner this month.
“I think that’s a terrible bind in which to put most American families. They’re either trying to pay health insurance that’s no longer affordable, or paying a penalty for not buying insurance that made Obamacare unaffordable,” Cotton added.
The bill’s latest sponsors in the Senate include Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, Sen. Johnny Isakson and Sen. David Perdue, both of Georgia, and Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma.
