Bombthrowers: One essential aspect of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, is the health insurance overhaul’s individual mandate. Under the 2010 law, Americans lacking health insurance coverage beginning in 2014 are required to pay a penalty. The Obama administration billed that penalty as a minor fine, but the numbers show otherwise.
According to numbers reported by the Washington Free Beacon, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collected $2.8 billion in ACA penalties on 2016 tax returns from 4 million Americans. That’s down from the 5.6 million who were penalized in 2015 returns, likely in response to President Donald Trump’s January 20th executive order to “minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens” of the ACA by waiving the individual mandate. Specifically, the order calls on the IRS and the secretary of Health and Human Services to
. . . exercise all authority and discretion available to them to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the Act that would impose a fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals . . .
IRS penalties for the uninsured were originally 1 percent of adjusted household gross income, or a $95 fee, whichever was higher. In 2016 that figure climbed to 2.5 percent of adjusted household gross income, or a $695 fee. In the latest figures, penalized taxpayers paid an average of $708 in fines for remaining uninsured.
The climbing penalties may be an indicator that the larger ACA system is on the verge of failing. MORE
Phuck obutthole and his so-called health care.
WTF!!!
A FINE FOR NOT BUYING SOMETHING is SO FUCKING UN-AMERICAN OUR FOUNDERS ARE ROLLING IN THEIR GRAVES! 🙁
AAAARRRGGGHHH!
Without tort reform medical costs will never go down.
If a 23 year old shows up in the ER with shortness of breath, tightness of the chest, defensive medicine requires the doc to do a complete cardiac work up. 999 times out of 1000 the patient just needs a xanex.
I rest my case.
And the 1 out of 1000 is just drug seeking behavior.
The fine is well below the cost of my self respect.
They can kiss my ass.
Is it time to just dissolve this government and just start over?
I don’t think it would be worse.
I have 695 reasos I am not voting for dean heller. He can send all the press releases claiming he is protecting gun rights and punishing scantuary cities, but he kept this mess. So he is no better than a democrat.
I thought Trump was supposed to be getting rid of this crap.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/NATL-Trumps-Obamacare-Directive-Aims-to-Undo-Fines-411396535.html?amp=y
What happened?
“This is a BFD!” said Joe Biden as Obama signed ACA into law.
I remember that moment with heavy heart.
A married couple, non smokers, in their 50s will pay a monthly premium of $1,300 with $7,000 deductible. Not even prescription drugs are covered before that obscene deductible. Nope!
The other day I sold a firearm to an IRS agent who flat-out said that if someone refuses to pay the penalty that there’s nothing the IRS can do about it.
As always, arrange your taxes so that you OWE money at the end of the year instead of being the dumbass that thinks if you overpay that you’ll receive a refund. Then, refuse to pay any penalty.
Hope the Supreme Court justices enjoy a fancy lunch in some posh DC bistro.
With their mandate to BUY INSURANCE, they mauled the Bill Of Rights into meaninglessness. Historic failure.
Val, with a $7K deductible, the premium should only be $130 a year.
Remember, it was some lefty court that threw out the original HMO’s, where you paid little each month, took care of your usual health expenses, and they covered the bigger things you got.