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<\/a><\/p>\nBy\u00a0Scott Rasmussen<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n August 9, 2017:<\/b>\u00a0The individual healthcare mandate requires every American to buy health insurance or pay a fine. In 2016, 6.5 million Americans chose to pay the fine rather than sign up for insurance on the Obamacare exchanges.[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n The mandate has always been the most unpopular part of\u00a0President Obama\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0healthcare law, officially known as the\u00a0Affordable Care Act<\/a>. In addition to those who pay the fine rather than buy the mandated levels of insurance,\u00a015 million people would drop their Obamacare coverage if it were legal to do so<\/a>.<\/p>\n This does not necessarily mean that these individuals want to go without insurance. Obamacare requires every insurance policy to cover a set of what it defines as Essential Health Benefits.[2]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The more benefits that a plan covers, the more expensive it is. Some people might prefer to buy less comprehensive insurance at a lower cost. For example, one option might be to buy insurance only for major healthcare costs such as surgeries or hospitalizations.<\/p>\n Since most Americans receive health insurance from their employer, the rising cost of healthcare is a key factor holding down wage growth. If the cost of benefits were the same today as a generation ago, the\u00a0average pay for full-time workers would be more than $3,300 higher annually<\/a>. Some people might prefer a bigger paycheck and less comprehensive coverage.<\/p>\n Healthcare policy analyst Bob Laszewski believes the ongoing unpopularity of Obamacare insurance coverage raises questions about \u201cstability in the individual-health-insurance market.\u201d He notes that \u201conly about 40 percent of those eligible for subsidies have signed up for coverage. In what other business or government program would such a dismal acceptance by those it was targeted to serve be considered a success?\u201d[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Laszewski was named the\u00a0Washington Post’<\/i>s Wonkblog “Pundit of the Year” for 2013 for his coverage of the Obamacare rollout.[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Laszewski does acknowledge that \u201cthings may well be looking more stable if insurance-company profits are the only measure.\u201d\u00a0Hospital revenue has increased significantly<\/a>\u00a0since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, there has been a\u00a0growing consolidation of the healthcare industry through mergers and acquisitions<\/a>.<\/p>\n