Maryland’s take on the individual mandate
Maryland’s effort began last April when the state legislature created the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission “both in response to and in anticipation of efforts at the federal level to repeal and replace the ACA,” according to a report by the state’s legislative services department and the commission itself.
The commission, chartered for 3 years, is charged with studying how federal action could affect the state’s health insurance market and Medicaid program and offering recommendations to mitigate any negative impacts. The panel began meeting months before the Maryland General Assembly started its 90-day session in January.
Based on the commission’s initial recommendations, Sen. Brian Feldman and House Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk introduced the Protect Maryland Health Care Act of 2018, which lays out a framework for preserving an individual mandate in the state.
The federal individual mandate was put in place to make sure that younger, healthier people joined the insurance risk pool, helping to stabilize the market. The idea is that those relatively healthy customers help cover the insurers’ costs for sicker customers’ care, which keeps premium costs manageable for everyone.