Health Care Bill Impacts: The Individual Mandate
Posted by
on June 14, 2010
Over the next two weeks, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at the health care bill and how it might impact your finances. First up is the new health insurance individual mandate.
One of the most controversial provisions of the new healthcare bill is also the one that will have the largest impact on the state of the insurance industry. It could also have a financial impact on you if you do not currently carry insurance. It’s the healthcare mandate.
Beginning in 2014, all Americans will be required to carry some form of health insurance or pay a penalty for not doing so.
How Much is the Penalty for No Health Insurance in 2014?
You will be exempt from the individual mandate if one of the following applies to you:
First and foremost, the Obama healthcare mandate provision is obviously meant to increase insurance coverage across the country. But there is a larger financial impact too: The healthcare bill forbids insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing coverage, meaning their costs will likely increase. The individual mandate attempts to balance out those costs by adding people to the covered pool –namely the young and healthy, who are more likely to forgo insurance currently. By doing this, insurers should be able to keep their premiums at or near current levels.
If you currently have insurance, the health care reform bill individual mandate provision does not affect you at all. But if you or a family member has chosen or been forced to go without insurance, you will now face a penalty for the right to continue that choice. If you have been unable to afford insurance, you may be eligible for assistance or be able to find an affordable plan through the new health insurance exchanges.
Stay tuned for a closer look in our entire health care series, including:
Most Colleges are requiring the students to have health insurance and will tack the cost of their “plan” onto the tuition bill until the student has proof of insurance from another source. The students “right” to be uninsured has been taken away, correct?