The individual mandate is one of the key provisions that is said to make the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act financially viable by getting young, healthy people who often forgo health insurance to join the insurance pool. But that mandate is not necessarily cheap for the American taxpayer.

According to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, repealing the provision would save the federal government approximately $300 billion over the next decade. Most of that savings would come from fewer seeking the subsidies that most people who enroll in individual plans on the exchange seek from the federal government to help pay for their insurance.

Opponents of the PPACA may be tempted to view the figures as obvious evidence that the law is too costly to justify.

And yet, repealing the mandate wouldn't necessarily save the average American any money. The report predicts repeal would provoke the exodus of 14 million people from the insurance market, raise the number of uninsured to about 43 million and drive up premiums by 20 percent.

The federal government would also lose out on $6 billion of fines paid by those who have refused to buy insurance. In the context of the federal budget, that is a pretty small figure –– perhaps one of the reasons some have argued the fine is too low.

And Americans are certainly not off the hook when it comes to the uninsured. Those who lack insurance are likely costing them through expensive emergency room visits, the cost of which are often passed on to those with coverage.

Instant Insights /

PPACA mandate to cost federal government $300B over 10 years

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