As seen in the New York Times:
Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, chairman of the Finance Committee, and Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the senior Democrat on the panel, initiated the effort to waive the penalty, which amounts to a permanent increase of 7 percent on all future premiums ” about $2.50 a month next year.
Mr. Grassley said the initial six-month enrollment period had been successful. But he said, “It takes time for people to learn about benefits available to them,” and he noted that workers with access to 401(k) retirement plans often did not sign up right away.
Dagnabbit, has personal responsibility gone completely out of the window in this country?
The reason for the deadline is to reduce the impact of adverse selection on the program. In other words, if only folks who know they have an immediate need sign up and pay the premiums, the program will cost more than if you “encourage” lower-cost individuals to enroll.
I can appreciate that the entire scheme is complicated and intimidating to folks not familiar with health insurance and financial matters, and I could easily believe that support services for initial enrollment weren’t sufficient for the demand for those services, creating a disincentive for folks to enroll. That would be an excellent argument to extend the enrollment period another month or so.
However, doing away with the late-enroll penalty entirely is not a good idea. You can’t just will bread and circuses into existence. They have to be paid for somehow.