Now that the individual mandate is gone, one of thenation’s largest insurers says Congress must act swiftlyto shore up the Obamacare market.

"There's an urgent need to stabilize the market," JustineHandelman, a senior vice president at the Blue Cross Blue ShieldAssociation, told reporters on Monday. “Without the mandate wethink that the single most important thing that can help offsetthat loss is dedicated funding for reinsurance.”

Another Blue Cross official, Kris Haltmeyer, tells the Hill thata reinsurance bill would not only prevent further rate hikes, butcould actually lead to a premium decrease. $1 billion a year forreinsurance would lead to premiums for silver level plans being 17percent lower in 2019 than this year.

Absent any action, Blue Cross estimates that premiums will rise10 percent next year.

The insurance lobby is supportive of a bill authored by Rep.Ryan Costello, R-Pa., which would authorize funding for reinsuranceas well as cost-sharing reductions that help insurers discount theprice of policies for low-income customers.

The GOP is split about what to do about the health law. Theparty’s most conservative wing does not want to support any measureto save a system set up by a law they detest. More moderate forceswithin the party, however, have called for stabilizationmeasures.

Costello, for instance, represents a swing district that willlikely be a top target for Democrats as they try to recapture theHouse this November. It is therefore likely in his politicalinterests to be seen as working toward bipartisan solutions on theACA, which has only become more popular since Republicans triedunsuccessfully to repeal it last year.

In an interview last week, Costello described his bill as anacknowledgement that the GOP would not pursue any major overhaul of the health care system thisyear.

Despite the repeal of the individual mandate, which was includedin the end-of-year tax bill signed by Trump, enrollment in the ACAmarketplace remains strong. More than 9 million people signed upfor coverage during the last enrollment period.