White House spokesperson David Simas declined to say if anyone will be subjected to Obamacare's individual mandate tax in 2014 Friday on MSNBC.
Host Chuck Todd put the question to Simas directly, asking if "a single person" will end up paying the tax in 2014. HHS announced yesterday they are suspending the mandate for consumers who had policies cancelled this year, raising the specter of potentially lifting the regulation for all of the uninsured.
Simas replied with his best Jay Carney impression and proceeded to talk about healthcare enrollment in Massachusetts:
CHUCK TODD: Is there going to be a single person in 2014 that's going to pay the penalty? A single uninsured American that is going to end up paying the penalty in 2014 at this point?
DAVID SIMAS: Chuck, I can't talk to you about how many people are going to be subject to the penalty. I can say that in Massachusetts, you saw a rapid decrease in the number of uninsured because when they had choices, people signed up. And that's what we're seeing today.