The Health 202: Republicans are right. The individual mandate is a tax on the poor.
By Paige Winfield Cunningham November 20 at 8:55 AM
Republicans are right: Slashing Obamacare’s requirement to buy health insurance amounts to a tax cut for low-income Americans. Instead, it’s higher-income people who would be hurt by the move.
As House and Senate Republicans advance their respective tax bills in a race to pass them before the end of the year, a heated debate is emerging over whether eliminating the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate would help or hurt Americans. Under the ACA, people who lack coverage must pay a fine of either $695 or 2.5 percent of their household income, whichever is higher.
The Health 202: Republicans are right. The individual mandate is a tax on the poor.
