In what might be the death knell for ObamaCare’s most controversial component — the individual mandate to buy insurance — the administration has added a mega-exemption that critics say would allow virtually anybody to skirt the rule.

“The door’s wide open,” economist Doug Holtz-Eakin told Fox News. “[The] mandate which they said was absolutely crucial to ObamaCare is falling apart day by day.”

House Speaker John Boehner said the latest change, made ahead of the March 31 enrollment deadline, applies to “essentially everyone.”

The most recent exemption appears to have been included last week, in an ObamaCare application document. There already had been 13 distinct exemptions, but this document added one more.

The document said that individuals can now qualify for a “hardship exemption” — meaning they would not have to pay a penalty for not buying insurance — if they “experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance.”

The document does not define what “another hardship” means, and suggests the administration might not be a stickler when it comes to proof either. It says anyone seeking this exemption should “submit documentation if possible.”

Of all the exemptions created so far, this category appears to be the broadest. Prior exemptions were created for people who are homeless, who filed for bankruptcy, who experienced a fire and who dealt with other financial emergencies. Already, the 13 exemptions previously on the books could apply to millions. One created in December would give a pass this year to many of those whose policies were canceled due to ObamaCare and who struggled to find an affordable option — last week, the administration quietly extended that waiver through 2016.

All along, the administration has rejected congressional attempts to officially delay the individual mandate in its entirety. The White House even threatened to veto one such bill.

But the 14 exemptions now on the books raise the question of whether the mandate has been pushed off in all but name — and whether mid-term election politics are a factor.

“It’s not worked for businesses, certainly not for families,” Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, told Fox News. “They don’t want to admit that. … so they’re finding loopholes to allow them, they think, to keep some voters on their side.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius defended the “hardship exemptions” during testimony Thursday before a House subcommittee.