Congress Considers Voiding ObamaCare Mandate in New Tax Bill: 11-6-17As Congress began retooling the tax proposal in pursuit of a final version that can pass a Congressional vote, the House suggested that using their sweeping tax bill to repeal the ACA’s individual mandate – through a proposed measure to undo the requirement that Americans must buy health insurance – might be included in the final tax package.The mandate, which imposes a tax penalty on Americans who fail to buy insurance under the ACA, is considered a critical component of the 2010 health care law. While previous efforts to overhaul the law have failed, repealing just the mandate could have a significant effects. A carefully crafted tax plan could gain some bipartisanship as Americans face soaring premiums under the health law for 2018.Repealing the mandate could reduce the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars, even though it would end a steady tax-revenue stream for the federal government from fines paid by Americans who opted out. Because Americans would no longer be forced to buy insurance, fewer would use federally funded Medicaid or require federal subsidies to pay for premiums, which would result in a net savings.One study conducted last year by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that repealing the mandate starting in 2018 could, by 2026, reduce federal budget deficits by roughly $400 billion.However, ending the individual mandate isn’t supported unanimously. The Ways and Means Committee began its so-called “markup” of the 400-plus-page reform bill Monday.Source: Fox News