Americans who remain uninsured next year will pay substantially more in penalties to the IRS — an average of $969 per household — under Obamacare rules, according to a new nonpartisan analysis.
That’s a jump from the 2015 penalty of $661 for those who opt out of insurance and are not exempt from the Affordable Care Act, according to the
Kaiser Family Foundation analysis.
Individuals pay the penalty when they complete their federal taxes in the spring.
Under the so-called “individual mandate” of Obamacare, the penalty for going uninsured started out at $95 — or 1 percent of family income, whichever was greater — in 2014. In 2016, it will rise to $695 per adult, plus $347.50 per child, up to a maximum $2,085 for a family — or 2.5 percent of family income.
Even individuals without insurance who would qualify for federal premium subsidies will face an average penalty of $738 per household if they stay uninsured in 2016, the Kaiser analysis shows. People who don’t qualify for subsidies because their incomes are higher will pay an estimated average penalty of $1,450.
About 7.5 million people paid an average of $200 in penalties for failing to comply with the individual mandate in 2014, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Another 12 million people have been grated exemptions.
About 3.5 million uninsured people are eligible for subsidized federal health law plans that would cost nothing in premiums or less money than the penalty for 2016, Kaiser projects.
Open enrollment for 2016 started on Nov. 1 and ends Jan. 31, 2016.
Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the secretary of health and human services, has predicted 10 million people would have marketplace coverage by the end of 2016, up about 100,000 from this year.
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