4M Estimated to Pay Health Care Penalty in 2016

Nearly 4 million Americans will have to pay a penalty if they fail to get health insurance when that element of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law kicks in, according to congressional projections released Thursday.

The penalties will average a little more than $1,000 apiece in 2016, the Congressional Budget Office said in a report.

The vast majority of people paying the fine will be middle class, which would violate Obama's 2008 campaign pledge not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 a year and couples making less than $250,000.

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Republicans have criticized the penalties, even though the idea for a mandate was originally proposed by Republicans in the 1990s and is part of the Massachusetts health care plan signed into law by then Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, in 2006. Attorneys general in more than a dozen states are working to challenge the mandate in federal court as unconstitutional.

Democrats argue the mandate and the penalties are a necessary part of a massive overhaul designed to expand coverage to millions who now lack it. They point out that getting young, healthy Americans in the insurance pool will reduce costs for others.

Americans who don't get qualified health insurance will be required to pay penalties starting in 2014, unless they are exempt because of low income, religious beliefs, or because they are members of American Indian tribes. The penalties will be fully phased in by 2016.

About 21 million nonelderly residents will be uninsured in 2016, according to projections by the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation. Most of those people will be exempt from the penalties.

Under the new law, the penalties will be phased in starting in 2014. By 2016, those who must get insurance but don't will be fined $695 or 2.5 percent of their household income, whichever is greater.

After 2016, the penalties will be increased by annual cost-of-living adjustments. People will not be required to get coverage if the cheapest plan available costs more than 8 percent of their income.

The penalties will be collected by the Internal Revenue Service through tax returns. However, the IRS will not have the authority to bring criminal charges or file liens against those who don't pay.

About 3 million of those required to pay fines in 2016 will have incomes below $59,000 for individuals and $120,000 for families of four, according to the CBO projections. The other 900,000 people who must pay the fine will have higher incomes.

The government will collect about $4 billion a year in fines from 2017 through 2019, according to the report.

[Stevenapoli7]

Before we proceed further down the road to government meddling in health care, let's see what happens to our taxes once we are done soaking the successful. My family is from Hungary...check out their Medicare and Social Security taxes compared to ours.

U.S.: 7.45%/ 7.45% employee/ employer (1.45 + 6.2 = 7.45)

Hungary: 17%/ 28.5%

This European style government subsidized health care that Obama, Pelosi, Krugman and his ilk support leads to long wait times, poor conditions, and you end up going to the doctor's private practice after work and pay cash anyway. Classic lose-lose situation which the U.S. will learn about first hand coming soon.

[unemployedsince2008]

I attempted to purchase healthcare for only myself I was given a price over 400.00 a month, seems like by the time I multiply it 12 times and a 1000.00 is a bargain.How can they charge a fine for something that is unaffordable, why not simply make charitycare availible at a thousand dollars a person per year? Where will the proceeds of the fine go?

[tsigili]

They will be paying far less than the rest will be.

[phwtb]

Ain't that just peachy! He barely gets the "law" passed and he and his cronies are already calculating how much they can steal from peoples pockets. And what's this crap about 4 BILLION a year starting in 2017? You would think that if that many people won't get it, it's because that many people DON'T WANT IT or CAN'T PAY IT!!

As much as I hate to say it, I think it's time to blow Obama out of the water and fire him while we still have a right to do so. I'm amazed he didn't get rid of the impeachment laws before he started pulling all his sh**.

God help us because Obama sure ain't!

[dbtmellis]

"Americans who don't get qualified health insurance will be required to pay penalties starting in 2014, unless they are exempt because of low income, religious beliefs, or because they are members of American Indian tribes. The penalties will be fully phased in by 2016. "

There you go just claim exemption based upon religion. Thats the ticket to keep the Fed off your backs!

[NYPD1966]

thanks osama for screwing our country

[notdoneyet]

I hope that first 4 million are obamabots

[jxknowles]

There is a good chance there will be bipartisan support to remove the mandate to buy insurance before 2016. So it's not worth getting worked up over a non-enforceable mandate.

What people should be up in arms about is Wellpoint systematically singling out and canceling insurance for premium holders recently diagnosed with breast cancer. How these insurers don't end up in jail is beyond me. This activity is at best criminal. It is immoral and inhuman.

[retm-w]

jxknowles

You think this is bad, wait until 2013. You'll be lucky if there is one company in the exchange. In Mass. they are not renewing or issuing new policies right now due to a rate increase denial by the state. These insurance companies aren't going to stay in business when they can't make a profit.Some will squeeze what they can for a few more years and close up shop, a few are already getting out of the health insurance business.

[kaviz]

I get a kick how the networks can predict our penalties in 2016, when their weatherpeople can't even predict if it's going to rain tommorrow.

[novamba]

It is actually quite simple if you think about it. You look at historical figures of salary and employement, and account for these factors on a percapita basis, using yearly adjustments that reflect the trends over say, 10 years. in essense in 6 years, we should on average make between 10-20% more than today. take todays salary, compound it by about 2-3% yearly and apply the correct penalty percentage to your situation...

[kaviz]

If you dont like the current health care bill, work together to change whats wrong and improve whats right. Together, both sides could make this the envy of the world and an example of how to take care of our own citizens. From the negative posts and 'news' rhetoric, we have a long ways to go to get the two sides to even talk civily to each other on any topic. It's definitley not perfect, but it is a step in the right direction for America's future. It's about time we start working together and make it the best program on earth. I personally doubt the GOP and Teabaggers and to a degree the DEMs, have the mental capacity to think for themselves, which means no civil debate will occur, even when the invitation is put forth to participate in discussions of differences of opinions.