After nearly six years from the passage of Barack Obama’s signature legislation, the Obamacare malaise continues to take its toll on voters and on the president’s own party.
The official sign-up deadline having now passed, tax officials estimate that as many as four million Americans will be slapped with fines from the IRS for having no insurance, given the law’s mandate for coverage.
In response to constituent complaints, three ranking Democrat congressmen, Reps Levin, McDermott, and Doggett, are asking the Obama administration to re-open the program’s enrollment period, according to Fox News Politics.
The fine for being uninsured will increase from $95 to $325 this year, and the average fine next year will increase to as much as $1,100. Polls show most voters are unaware of this increase.
What remains to be seen is whether and how the administration will deal with the coming fines ahead of the 2016 election cycle given that the impact will be mostly felt among middle class voters whose support Democrats need desperately.
And with Reform Conservatism taking center stage in the Republican Party and specifically aimed at winning the middle class, Democrats are already beginning to feel the electoral squeeze.
