Originally published on cnsnews.com | Photo from cnsnews.com
By Twila Brase
Senate Tax Bill Repeals Individual Mandate – But It’s Not Enough
The U.S. Senate passed an historic tax bill early Saturday morning and addressed the Affordable Care Act individual mandate.We applaud the Senate for taking action to eliminate the Affordable Care Act penalty on people who cannot afford private insurance or do not want public coverage. That said, Americans need to understand three things:
First, neither the individual mandate nor the penalty language is repealed in the Senate bill. They would remain in law. Second, the penalty on individuals is simply zeroed out, allowing another Congress to easily restore the penalty to the same level or even higher. Third, the Senate bill does not zero out the penalty until January 1, 2019.
