Get ready to hear more about the individual mandate again

Today marks three weeks before the end of Obamacare open enrollment – which will also mark the start of penalties for skipping health insurance coverage. Much of the messaging from supporters of the health care law during the enrollment period has focused on the value of having insurance, as opposed to the tax hit for not obtaining coverage. There's good reason for that. The mandate is the most unpopular element of the law, so why remind people of that? Further, just a very small segment of the population in 2014 is expected to face the mandate penalty, which is generally much cheaper than the cost of insurance itself.