S&P: Individual Mandate Repeal May Cause Millions More Uninsured

Repealing the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act would lead to 3 to 5 million more uninsured people, and would only save $80 billion in the next 10 years, Standard & Poor's reports.

The Congressional Budget Office released a similar report this week, but theirs found that a repeal would save $338 billion in the next decade and lead to 13 million more people uninsured.

"Our estimates are lower because we believe that it is not the mandate penalty, but the intrinsic financial incentives available to most eligible enrollees that drive enrollment," S&P credit analyst Deep Banerjee said in a statement.

According to S&P, most people enrolled in Medicaid don't pay a premium or cost-sharing requirement, while 60 percent of those enrolled on the individual market are subsidized.

"As for the nonsubsidized enrollees in the individual market, although some may be enrolling because of the mandate, the majority today are signing up because they need insurance," S&P said.

Insurance providers have said that repealing the individual mandate will destabilize the market because it would remove the incentive for healthy people to sign up for health insurance.

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