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State groups laud health insurance laws

Vince Calio//May 31, 2018//

State groups laud health insurance laws

Vince Calio//May 31, 2018//

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State health care groups applauded a pair of health insurance bills signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy.

Assembly Bill 3380, signed Wednesday, restores the individual mandate in the state, which penalizes individuals who do not have health insurance, thus spreading risk and reducing pricing volatility in the individual market.

Senate Bill 1878 allows the state to create a reinsurance program to provide individuals with additional insurance for high-cost health care. The state is hoping to use taxes collected from the new individual mandate to help create the fund.

The individual mandate, originally part of the Affordable Care Act, was effectively repealed in late 2017 when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law. To create the reinsurance fund, the state’s Department of Banking and Insurance must apply for federal waivers of portions of the ACA.

“The legislation signed by Governor Murphy sends a powerful message to Washington that New Jersey will not allow the Affordable Care Act to be sabotaged,” said Raymond Castro, director of health policy at government watchdog group New Jersey Policy Perspective, in a statement. “Restoring the individual mandate is essential to keeping health care affordable, as it will ensure younger and healthier people obtain insurance and spread the risk in the health insurance pool. Without robust participation of these individuals, insurance premiums will climb and the market could destabilize.”

Better Choices Better Care, a health care advocacy group in New Jersey, also applauded the signings.

“Chaos at the national level continues to threaten to make health care less affordable and accessible,” the group said. “When Washington first weakened and later moved to gut the federal individual mandate, it became crucial that New Jersey act on its own; without an individual mandate, hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans – including those most at risk – would see the price of coverage soar beyond reach.”