In the midst of a massive government shutdown, the American Medical Society and the American Dental Association are joining forces to press the White House to pass the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.
The alliance is in response to the Trump administration’s proposal to repeal the ACA’s individual mandates, which mandate that Americans obtain health insurance.
The proposal would allow insurers to sell policies across state lines, a key policy change that many experts say could increase premiums.
The groups say the individual mandate would force businesses to raise prices and drive up insurance premiums.
Under the Trump plan, states would have to approve individual insurance policies for all individuals who had coverage through a third-party insurer.
It’s estimated that this could drive up premiums by an average of more than 1 percent a year for the first three years.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that under current law, the mandate would lead to an average increase in premiums of 2 percent a month.
The Trump administration has said that the plan would save $2.3 trillion over a decade.
“The individual mandate has proven to be an effective and reliable way to lower costs for Americans, especially low-income families and individuals, who rely on health insurance to pay for essential health care, pay their bills and get the care they need,” said Dr. Joseph P. Rolfe, the president of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons.
“In the absence of a health care system that is truly sustainable, the individual mandates have failed to achieve their goal of protecting consumers and reducing premiums,” he said.
In a joint statement, the two groups urged the administration to include the mandate in its fiscal 2018 budget, which is expected in the coming weeks.
The statement came in response for the third time to a letter from the American Hospital Association.
“The individual health care mandate is a crucial part of the health care reforms required under the ACA,” the AMA said in the statement.
The American Hospital Assn. “
We urge you to include this important piece of the Affordable Healthcare Act into the fiscal 2018 Budget that is due out next week,” the letter continued.
The American Hospital Assn.
also issued a similar statement in a letter sent to President Donald Trump.
“As Americans, we are concerned about the health reform we are working to enact under the Affordable Health Care Act,” the hospital group said.
“This administration has repeatedly and unnecessarily delayed the implementation of this important reform, and we are not optimistic that the ACA will be repealed in time for the 2019 elections.
We urge you and your administration to implement the law in a responsible and timely manner.”
The American Densities Association, which represents more than 700,000 small and medium-sized businesses, also issued an open letter to the White