Hatch Highlights CBO Report on Obamacare Penalties

Four million Americans expected to pay billions in fines in 2016 alone

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, today issued the following statement regarding a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) entitled “Payments of Penalties for Being Uninsured Under the Affordable Care Act: 2014 Update,” that outlines payment penalties under Obamacare:

“Today’s CBO report continues to show the consequences of Obamacare’s big government mandates on American pocketbooks. The passage of this law with its 21 new taxes, tallying more than $1 trillion, marked one of the biggest tax hikes on America families and businesses in our nation’s history. Under the onerous individual mandate alone, millions of Americans are now expected to pay up to $44 billion more in penalties over the next decade for a mismanaged healthcare law that is barely functional. From failed state exchanges to being kicked off their health insurance, American families continue to bear the brunt of bad policy. Democrats and Republicans need to come together to find a new path forward for our families.”

Findings of the report include:

CBO and JCT estimates that about 4 million people will pay $4 billion in penalties in 2016.
From 2017-2024, the penalty collection will increase to $5 billion a year.
One of the biggest reasons for changes to these estimates from the September 2012 report are because of unilateral Administrative changes to the law in the form of regulations, delays, and carve outs – such as instituting “special enrollment periods.”

Senator Hatch is the author of the American Liberty Restoration Act (S. 40) which repeals this onerous individual mandate and saves more than $460 billion over the next decade according to the CBO.

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