Editor’s note: Chris Pope responds to a federal appeals court’s ruling that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate is unconstitutional.
The importance of the individual mandate to the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges was greatly exaggerated. It did little to increase enrollment, to reduce insurance premiums, or to alleviate the burden of uncompensated care. Its zeroing out allowed people to purchase cheaper and better alternatives to Affordable Care Act plans, without adversely affecting those remaining on the exchange.
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Chris Pope is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author The Individual Mandate Is Unnecessary and Unfair. Follow him on Twitter here.