Nine in 10 enrollees in the non-group market say they intend to continue buying their own insurance even after being told that Congress has repealed the individual mandate penalty for not having coverage as of 2019, according to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The survey finds the mandate, part of the Affordable Care Act, ranks low among the reasons people give for buying their own insurance in 2018.
The survey also finds a lack of awareness about the status of the mandate penalty, with 1 in 5 non-group enrollees (19%) saying they are aware the penalty has been repealed but is still in effect for this year. The mandate continues to rank far down on a list of “major reasons” people give for buying their own insurance, below reasons such as protecting against high medical bills (75%), peace of mind (66%), or because they or a family member has an ongoing health condition (41%).