healthcare and tax penalty

[colbtrist]

I have health insurance, thank God. Boy do I pay for it though!!!

[monnee]

The tax penalty is automatically taken out of your annual tax return if you don't have health insurance.

[Forp]

pay for some through a part time job

[hawkeye3210]

I don't like the idea that if you don't have medical insurance you will be fined.  Can you say convoluted.  What if people don't have a job and can't pay the premium every month?  Stupid set up.  Oxymoron.

I've answered this for you three times now. There will be now penalty in that situation.

[countrygirl12]

I have health insurance (thank God), and have had it for a number of years. However, I know there are lots of people who need to sign up for the new obamacare health insurance, or they will face a tax / penalty.

Personally, I don't think the tax/penalty is fair, because every individual should be able to exercise their free choice to have health insurance or not to have it. But, again, it is the law of the land; a law that I would never have voted for if I was a member of Congress.

It is not as simple as just sign up for obamercare.  If you do not have the funds to pay for it then you can't pay for it.  Not everyone qualifies for the freebie insurance.  And congress voted for it because it is more money for them.  The government does not care about "us" the people any more.  I am not sure they ever did.

[countrygirl12]

From what I understand, depending on income, there are subsidies or credits that you are eligible for under the Affordable Care Act.  When someone does not have health insurance and gets very ill, needing specialized treatment, medicines, and hospitalization, who do you think pays for it?  Someone has to absorb those costs, and they are in the form of taxes and increased insurance premiums for those of us who get insurance.  For those with jobs, employers pass along a percentage of those increased costs to their employees.   

LOL.  NO ONE pays for it.  If you get sick and you don't have insurance and you can't pay for it then you are not treated.  It is that simple.  They don't just treat you for free.  I would love to be able to have insurance.  But I CANNOT afford it.  No way.  No how.  It is easy to judge when you have NEVER been in the situation.

[lywb2168]

Well I have insurance Thank God, thru my hubby's work.  The funny thing is that my work offers insurance but I have to pay almost all of it on my own, I mean for just myself is $75 per pay check, for a family is $600 per paycheck, for my husband is $160 per paycheck for all of us (4 in my family).  So obviously we decided to keep it under his.  This year his company made a provision that states "If your spouse has insurance thru his/her employer but stays with your policy there will be a 'penalty' fee of $50 per paycheck for him/her to stay in our policy".  Well obviously we decided to pay the "Penalty" it is still cheaper than my own employer policy of $75 per paycheck for just me.

But insurance companies are playing with are pockets because of the law and it is awful, I like the idea of insurance for everyone but not the way they are exercising it in this country.  Back 'home' in my country there is free medical care for everyone which is covered by your Social Security payments, they cover you, your spouse and dependents including parents if they do not have their own.  The care might be bad and it has gotten worse thru the years, but it is free, doctors, hospital, medicines, etc.

[countrygirl12]

I am a tax preparer for H&R Block and you have to pay the penalty if you do not have qualifying health insurance. You can go to healthcare.org to find affordable health care. The open enrollment is until February 15th, so act quick! That way next year you will not face a penalty for 2015. For 2014 you will be penalized 1% of your salary or $95 per tax payer or which ever is greater. 2015 the penalties will be 2% or $325 per tax payer and $2016 the penalties will be $2.5% or $695. So, please enroll now. It's cheaper than getting private health coverage.

No actually you do not.  There are people who do not make enough money and will be exempt.  And it is not as simple as go to the site and find affordable healthcare.  You do not seem to grasp what many people just on here have said.  THEY CANNOT AFFORD IT!  There are people who are working and only get 12 or so hours a week because companies are cutting back to avoid offering benefits to people.  If you work 10 hours a week they can avoid that.  There are people who are looking for work and are doing the best they can.  But those with full time jobs and insurance and benefits and all that just do not grasp it.  You cannot understand a situation that you have never been in.  And the obamercare is NOT affordable.  Most everyone I have heard speak of it said their premiums at least doubled if not more than doubled this year, their deductible went up, and what is covered went down as well.

[countrygirl12]

Well I have insurance Thank God, thru my hubby's work.  The funny thing is that my work offers insurance but I have to pay almost all of it on my own, I mean for just myself is $75 per pay check, for a family is $600 per paycheck, for my husband is $160 per paycheck for all of us (4 in my family).  So obviously we decided to keep it under his.  This year his company made a provision that states "If your spouse has insurance thru his/her employer but stays with your policy there will be a 'penalty' fee of $50 per paycheck for him/her to stay in our policy".  Well obviously we decided to pay the "Penalty" it is still cheaper than my own employer policy of $75 per paycheck for just me.

But insurance companies are playing with are pockets because of the law and it is awful, I like the idea of insurance for everyone but not the way they are exercising it in this country.  Back 'home' in my country there is free medical care for everyone which is covered by your Social Security payments, they cover you, your spouse and dependents including parents if they do not have their own.  The care might be bad and it has gotten worse thru the years, but it is free, docotos, hospital, medicines, etc.

So lie.  How would they ever know where your spouse works of if they are offered insurance where they work?  I do not know where you are from but I know a lady who is from Canada and lives in the US now and she says they have free health care there but you may have to wait a year to see a doctor or to have needed surgery.  And if there is an emergency you can get bumped further down the list.  That is ridiculous.  Of course I figure a lot of it is because it is free and everyone runs to the doctor every time they have a snotty nose.  Kind of like the people around here who abuse the system because they have the free government insurance.  They are at the doctor every week for something.  In cases like that if they do not really need a doctor and are abusing the system they need to have to pay themselves and if they do not pay then jail them until they come up with the money.  Sounds harsh but I am sick of people abusing the system!  And then people who really need to have a medical procedure cannot do so because they can't get insurance, can't afford it, so they suffer.

[misi49]

I don't have health insurance so I will have to pay the penalty.  Obamacare should have never been passed in the first place.  It should be my choice if I want insurance or not. 

[dreamyxo]

I have insurance through my job.  I though about signing up for Obamacare last year but it was so darn confusing and it wouldn't tell me exactly what I would be paying each month so I stuck with my employer which was easier.

I think the whole penalty thing is so stupid and I hope they get rid of it.

[mrrangerrick]

I'm uninsured. While some think that Obamacare is great, it leaves people like me (who work 90 hours a week) slipping through the cracks. I can't afford the extra bill each month, so I have no choice but to be left uninsured. Obamacare didn't solve anything except create a "tax" for those who can't afford insurance.

[countrygirl12]

I'm uninsured. While some think that Obamacare is great, it leaves people like me (who work 90 hours a week) slipping through the cracks. I can't afford the extra bill each month, so I have no choice but to be left uninsured. Obamacare didn't solve anything except create a "tax" for those who can't afford insurance.

You work 90 hours a week and cannot afford insurance?  39 hours is considered full time.  If you work 90 hours a week (that is some killer over time) you should have no problem affording insurance.

[countrygirl12]

I'm uninsured. While some think that Obamacare is great, it leaves people like me (who work 90 hours a week) slipping through the cracks. I can't afford the extra bill each month, so I have no choice but to be left uninsured. Obamacare didn't solve anything except create a "tax" for those who can't afford insurance.

AND if you have proof you CANNOT afford the insurance you WILL NOT be fined.  Several people on here have stated that.

[daeth2]

I don't have health insurance so I will have to pay the penalty.  Obamacare should have never been passed in the first place.  It should be my choice if I want insurance or not. 

The problem with this is that the USA turned into lawsuit heaven which forced the costs of medical attention to go up drastically to cover doctors own insurance rates.  The trickle down is that if YOU don't have insurance to pay the difference between your co-pay (if insured) and the entire amount (surgeries routinely run in $1000's), somebody has to pay it.  In the case of people with no insurance, those funds come from Medicaid/Medicare, which are either directly funded, or heavily subsidized by the government.

On the flip side, if you are in a country (ala Canada, parts of Europe, etc) who has a nationalized healthcare system, those same funds come from you in the form of higher taxes than here.

While I do not agree with the premise of Obamacare...I do not believe the Federal Gvt has the right or authority to force an individual to buy a product, I can see the benefits of ensuring everybody has equal access to healthcare.