As we learned recently, nearly 8 percent of western Colorado residents paid a tax penalty in 2015 rather than carry health insurance, even though a good portion of them probably qualified for tax benefits for health care or even free health care.

That’s because more than 73 percent of those households made less than $50,000 per year, according to the Sentinel’s Joe Vaccarelli. Interesting as this data is (which illustrates the confusion surrounding the central provision of President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act – the individual mandate) its relevance to the health-care debate may have a short shelf life.

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate as a constitutional tax back in 2012, it’s been a focal point of Republican efforts to repeal the health-care law. Having failed to do away with the law, Republicans are zeroing in on the mandate as part of their tax-reform package.