Quite true, Obama will not be up for reelection then, so he doesn't have to worry about explaining why everyone's premium skyrocketed.
He doesn't have to worry about it because it won't happen. The reason waivers are necessary right now are because some of the early deliverables (coverage to 26, children can't be denied for pre-existing conditions) would increase the cost of coverage in the absence of the individual mandate.
And the mandate will decrease those costs how?
Enlargement of the risk pool.