Weak mandate enforcement destabilizes exchanges

Rising benchmark premiums (KFF finds ~13% nationwide; cheapest bronze for a 50‑year‑old ~ $700/mo) plus a politically softened individual mandate reduces healthy enrollment, widening adverse selection and making ACA marketplaces unstable. Short‑term political saving (relaxed enforcement) trades off against long‑term market viability, producing higher premiums and more uninsured over time. — If true, this reframes debates about enforcement and political expedients as core drivers of insurance market stability and future uninsured counts, not merely ideological wins or losses.