If you’re someone who has been putting off getting health insurance, you might be wondering if the penalties for being uninsured are still in effect. With recent changes to healthcare laws and regulations, it’s understandable to feel confused or uncertain about what your options are.
In this post, we’ll explore whether or not you’ll still be penalized for not having insurance and what that could mean for your financial future. So fasten your seatbelt and let’s dive into the world of healthcare penalties!
The Affordable Care Act and the Individual Mandate
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires nearly all Americans to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. The individual mandate is the cornerstone of the ACA, and it’s what requires everyone to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty.
The good news is that the individual mandate is still in place for 2019. This means that if you don’t have health insurance, you may be subject to a tax penalty. The amount of the tax penalty has increased since 2018, so it’s important to be aware of how much you’ll owe if you don’t have health insurance.
If you’re thinking about not getting health insurance in 2019, there are a few things to consider. First, the tax penalty has increased significantly. In 2018, the tax penalty was $695 per adult and $347.50 per child, up to a maximum of $2,085 per family. For 2019, the tax penalty is $749 per adult and $375 per child, up to a maximum of $2295 per family. That’s an increase of nearly 8% from last year.
Second, if you don’t have health insurance and you get sick or injured, you’ll have to pay for all of your medical care out of pocket. This can be extremely expensive, especially if you need surgery or other major medical treatment.
The Penalty for Not Having Health Insurance
If you don’t have health insurance and don’t qualify for an exemption, you’ll have to pay a penalty when you file your taxes. The penalty is calculated two ways. For most people, it’s 2.5% of their income or $695 per adult ($347.50 per child), whichever is higher. For example, if your family of four earned $60,000 last year, your penalty would be $1,500 (2.5% x $60,000). If you only had one child, it would be $695 (the flat rate).
The other way the penalty is calculated is by taking the national average premium for a bronze level health plan and multiplying it by 2.08. This number represents the percentage of Americans who didn’t have health insurance in 2016. So if the average bronze plan premium was $5,712 last year, the individual mandate penalty would be $11,983 (2.08 x $5,712). But this method can’t be used to calculate the penalty for 2018 because premiums are increasing too much and there aren’t good data yet on what they’ll be.
The good news is that the individual mandate penalties are going away starting in 2019 because of the tax reform bill that was passed in December 2017. So if you don’t have health insurance in 2018, you won’t have to pay a penalty when you file your taxes in 2019.
How to Get Health Insurance
There are a few ways to get health insurance. The first way is to get it through your job. Most employers offer some kind of health insurance, and usually the premium is taken out of your paycheck before you ever see it.
If your job doesn’t offer health insurance, or if you’re self-employed, you can buy an individual health insurance policy. You can also get health insurance through the government program Medicaid, if you qualify. Finally, some states have their own programs for people who need help getting health insurance.
If you don’t have health insurance and you don’t qualify for any of the above programs, you may be able to get a “catastrophic” health insurance plan. These plans have high deductibles (meaning that you have to pay most of your medical bills yourself up to a certain amount) but they are much cheaper than other kinds of plans. Of course, if you do have a major medical problem, you could still end up owing a lot of money.
If you can’t afford any kind of health insurance at all, there are still some things you can do to get help paying for medical care. Many hospitals have programs that will give free or reduced-cost care to people who can’t afford to pay. And there are also many community clinics that provide low-cost or even free care for those in need.
Exemptions from the Penalty
If you’re uninsured and don’t qualify for an exemption, you’ll have to pay a fee. This fee is sometimes called the “Individual Shared Responsibility Payment.” The fee for not having insurance in 2016 is 2.5% of your yearly household income or $695 per person ($347.50 per child under 18), whichever is higher.
You’ll have to pay half of the annual fee for each child under 18 that you’re responsible for. The fee increases every year. In 2015, it was 2% of your income or $325 per person ($162.50 per child under 18).
Conclusion
While the Affordable Care Act may have changed the way that health insurance is viewed in the United States, it has not eliminated individual responsibility for obtaining coverage. If you choose to go without health insurance, you could still face stiff fines and penalties as a result of not having adequate protection.
It’s important to consider all of your options before deciding on whether or not to buy a health plan so that you can make an informed decision about what’s best for you and your family.
