![Sen. Sherrod Brown speaks at a healthcare roundtable event in January 2017. [Nick Castele / ideastream]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dd1a5e9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/980x520+0+0/resize/840x446!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F11%2F15%2F0115brown.jpg)
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is opposing a Republican plan to use the federal tax overhaul bill to end an Obamacare health insurance mandate.
The mandate levies a tax on people without healthcare.
Brown said it’s based on a model “where you need everybody in the insurance pool, you make it attractive to get everybody in the insurance pool…the more young, healthy people in the insurance pool, the better you keep down rates.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimates a repeal of the mandate would save $338 billion and lead to 13 million fewer people getting health insurance over 10 years. The CBO also says premiums would be about 10 percent higher in the individual markets.
Republican Sen. Rob Portman supports ending the mandate, saying people should not be penalized for opting out of coverage.
