A centerpiece of Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is a requirement that all individuals carry some minimum health insurance
or pay a tax. The new system aims to provide insurance through state
marketplaces and subsidies for tens of millions of Americans who lack
it.
If individuals choose not to
carry insurance, they are subject to a penalty, starting at $95 per
person per year or 1 percent of income in 2014, whichever is greater,
and eventually reaching $695 per person or 2.5 percent of income by
2016.
The IRS, which is
administering parts of the law involving revenue collection, released
the final rules spelling out the details of what constitutes minimum
essential coverage, and how individuals are responsible for spouses,
children and other dependents, among other topics.
The
individual mandate is distinct from the employer mandate, which imposes
a fee on most large employers that do not offer a minimum level of
coverage. The Administration delayed that provision, putting off the
effective date until 2015.
Backers
of the law say that, unlike the employer mandate, the individual mandate
is essential to ensure enough individuals are enrolled in the system to
allow the online marketplaces to function. Read more...
