How ending Obamacare’s individual mandate will hurt rural America

How ending Obamacare’s individual mandate will hurt rural America Senate tax reform plans have extended to include the repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance mandate. In short, the mandate works as a requirement for most people to have health insurance. Without the mandate individuals will drop their coverage, leaving market stability and policy prices in question.The Congressional Budget Office estimates the repeal of the mandate to result in increase of the number of uninsured individuals by 15 million and decrease in federal budget deficits by $416 billion over 10 years.What increase of uninsured individuals means for rural America Individual mandate repeal would cause 15 million people to drop coverage. A 15 million increase in the number of uninsured individuals will ultimately dismantle Obamacare from the inside out, wrecking the market place and raising premiums. Of the 15 million to no longer be covered a large number of them will be from small rural communities. Rural hospitals will be left to suffer most, increasing their amount of bad debt from providing uninsured individuals with healthcare and placing them at even greater risk of closure. Since 2010, 82 rural hospitals have closed across the nation. With sparse numbers of operating rural hospitals, rural communities cannot withstand the loss of even more.The GOP’s move to include repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate leaves Americans to ask, is this bill focused on tax reform or a way to win the battle with Obamacare?To learn more about proposed numbers associated with the mandate repeal, visit https://www.cbo.gov/budget-options/2016/52232.