Former HHS Secretary Walks Back Criticism of End to Mandate Fee

Former HHS Secretary Walks Back Criticism of End to Mandate Fee

By Andrew Siddons, CQ

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Wednesday that comments he made a day earlier that appeared critical of Republicans' decision to effectively repeal a mandate to buy health insurance were taken out of context.

On Tuesday, Price told attendees of the World Health Care Congress in Washington that eliminating the penalty for lacking health coverage would result in higher costs for those purchasing individual health plans.

While Price suggested that getting rid of the fee may help Americans who don’t want to purchase insurance, he quickly added: “There are many, and I’m one of them, who believes that that actually will harm the pool in the exchange market, because you’ll likely have individuals that are younger and healthier not participating in that market, and consequently that drives up the costs for other folks within that market.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Price said that “repealing the individual mandate was exactly the right thing to do.” He said his remarks at the conference were meant to convey “how repealing the mandate would affect certain populations in the absence of additional reforms, like the expansion of Association Health Plans and other measures that use market forces to drive down costs.”

“Additional reforms are vitally necessary,” he added.

During his nine months as Trump’s health secretary and for years as a Georgia congressman, Price was one of Republicans’ leading cheerleaders for the repeal of President Barack Obama’s health care law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152), which established the mandate that most people purchase health insurance. Price resigned in September after being dogged by questions about his use of private planes.

Republicans have touted the elimination of the penalty, which was in last year’s tax cut (PL 115-97), as their most significant step in fulfilling campaign promises to overturn the law. 

Democrats and health care law supporters seized on Price’s conference comments. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said that Republicans who voted to repeal the mandate penalty starting next year were responsible if health insurance premiums rise.

“People across the country are unfortunately going to start seeing higher rates being filed as soon as this week, and former Secretary Price’s comments make it absolutely clear who families should hold accountable — President Trump and Congressional Republicans,” Murray said in a statement.

Mary Ellen McIntire contributed to this report.