Without Obamacare Mandate, ‘You Open the Floodgates’ for Skimpy Health Plans<br />Without a mandate, the cost of coverage could increase by double digits on top of already high<br />premiums as healthy people left the market and sick people needing costly care stayed in it.<br />The drive by Senate Republicans to repeal the requirement<br />that most Americans have health insurance is not only likely to discourage people from signing up for coverage during the current enrollment period, but also could result in higher premiums.<br />Last year, a short-term policy averaged $109 a month for an individual, according to a recent analysis by eHealth,<br />an online broker, compared with $378 a month during last year’s open enrollment period for an A. C.A.<br />Many consumers would likely to turn to the cheap, short-term policies<br />that already skirt provisions of the law and may not cover pre-existing conditions or basic medical needs.
