COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A bipartisan governor duo is urging Congress to retain the federal health care law’s unpopular individual mandate while seeking to stabilize individual insurance markets as legislators continue work on a long-term replacement law.
The recommendation is part of a compromise plan that’s designed to be palatable to both parties. It was endorsed by six other governors.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, shared their plan in a letter to congressional leaders Thursday. They acknowledge retaining the mandate may be a difficult sell for Congress, which has failed so far to pass a replacement health care bill.
“The current mandate is unpopular, but for the time being it is perhaps the most important incentive for healthy people to enroll in coverage,” they wrote to House and Senate leaders of both parties. Experts concur that keeping younger, healthier people in the insurance pool protects against costs ballooning out of control.
The letter was signed by the governors of Alaska, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia.