Better Care ‘Will Repeal The Individual Mandate’

Under Obamacare’s Individual Mandate Tax: ‘You Must Pay’ -- ‘A Tax On Those Who Go Without Insurance’

HEALTHCARE.GOV: “If you can afford health insurance but choose not to buy it, you must pay a fee called the individual shared responsibility payment.” (“The Fee For Not Having Health Insurance,” Heathcare.Gov, Accessed 6/15/2017)

• SUPREME COURT: “…the shared responsibility payment may… be read as imposing a tax on those who go without insurance.” (Supreme Court Of The United States Syllabus, National Federation Of Independent Business Et Al. V. Sebelius, Secretary Of Health And Human Services, Et Al., 6/28/12)

“The fee for not having health insurance in 2016 & 2017: The fee is calculated 2 different ways – as a percentage of your household income, and per person. You’ll pay whichever is higher.

• Percentage of income: 2.5% of household income -- Maximum: Total yearly premium for the national average price of a Bronze plan sold through the Marketplace
• Per person: $695 per adult; $347.50 per child under 18; Maximum: $2,085” (“The Fee For Not Having Health Insurance,” Heathcare.Gov, Accessed 6/15/2017)

“It started at $95 or 1 percent of income in 2014.” (“Bigger Bite For Health Law Penalty On Uninsured,” AP, 10/19/15)

Individual Mandate Tax Has Long Been Controversial

THEN-SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL): “Here's the concern. If you haven't made it affordable, how are you going to enforce a mandate. I mean, if a mandate was the solution, we can try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 2/5/08)

• SEN. OBAMA (D-IL): “…a mandate does not work unless you impose harsh, stiff penalties on those who don't purchase it.” (CNN’s “Newsroom,” 2/23/08)

REMINDER: ‘Federal Mandates That Apply To Individuals As Members Of Society Are Extremely Rare,’ Such As ‘The Requirement That Draft-Age Men Register With The Selective Service System’

CBO: “Federal mandates that apply to individuals as members of society are extremely rare. One example is the requirement that draft-age men register with the Selective Service System. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is not aware of any others imposed by current federal law.” (“Budgetary Treatment Of An Individual Mandate To Buy Insurance,” Congressional Budget Office, P.13, 8/94)

Obamacare Mandate Tax Has Hit Vulnerable: ‘I Cannot Afford An Additional Bill’

CA MAN: ‘I cannot afford an additional bill’ “‘There's only so far one can dwindle a ramen-noodle diet,’ said Christopher Rael of Los Angeles... ‘I cannot afford an additional bill,’ he said. He paid a fine of about $150 for being uninsured in 2014.” (“Health Care Fines Press Millennials as Deadline Nears,” The Associated Press, 1/27/2016)

WA Woman: ‘If given a voice — Do you want to participate or not? — I would have said no… But I don’t remember being asked’ “Ms. Williams, who earns less than $40,000 a year at a small marketing firm in Seattle, said she did not want to hand over what little discretionary money she had after rent and other living expenses to an insurance company. … She qualified for a subsidy to help buy coverage through Washington’s marketplace, but said that she still would have had to pay around $135 a month for the least expensive plan, with a $6,000 deductible that she said made it unfeasible. … ‘If given a voice — ‘Do you want to participate or not?’ — I would have said no,’ Ms. Williams said. ‘But I don’t remember being asked.’” (“Looking At Costs And Risks, Many Skip Health Insurance,” The New York Times, 4/21/14)