GOP Health Plan

The cost of being uninsured would rise for many Americans 

under GOP's health plan

For example, a 50-year-old earning $47,520 annually would 

pay just $465 for being uninsured for six months under 

Obamacare.

But that same person but would be on the hook for up to 

$1,991 in penalties under the Republicans' plan if they 

were uninsured for the same time period and then signed up 

for coverage, the analysis finds.

If that person ended up earning $118,800 the following year 

in income, and also had a six-month gap in coverage, their 

Obamacare penalty would be $2,414. But their fine under the 

GOP plan if they signed up for insurance could be as low as 

$1,006.

And because the Republican plan's penalty "is not tied to 

income," as Obamacare's penalty is, "low-income individuals 

will pay significantly more under" the GOP proposal than 

higher income earners.

While the 30 percent penalty called for by the Republican 

proposal is designed to discourage people from dropping 

health coverage — thus hurting the bottom lines of insurers 

— some health analysts have said it could actually have the 

opposite effect.

Healthy people, no longer confronted with Obamacare's 

individual mandate, may wager they will be better off 

financially by dropping their insurance plan, knowing they 

can re-enroll in coverage, and pay the GOP's penalty, if 

they need to at a later date.

Premiums are based on an insurer's costs. The healthier the 

"risk pool" of customers is the more likely it is that 

their premiums will cover the cost of providing benefits to 

customers needing medical care. The sicker the pool, the 

more likely that costs will outweigh revenue from premiums, 

which would lead insurers to increase their prices.