On August 6, 2014 the Wall Street Journal reported in its article by Stephanie Armour, “Fewer Uninsured Face Fines as Health Law’s Exemptions Swell,” http://online.wsj.com/articles/fewer-uninsured-face-fines-as-health-laws-exemptions-swell-1407378602.
This is good news for consumers because whatever benefits foreseen by the “idea” of Obamacare (requiring everyone to have insurance or pay a fine) in order to help keep premium costs down, the FACT is that health insurance coverage is expensive and many citizens, including the young healthies have been suffering more so than others in today’s economy.
First, obviously, most people would rather have health insurance. Second, for many it remains unaffordable in today’s economy of limited employment opportunity and limited salaries especially in states that cannot seem to stop trampling on their working and non-working poor. OK, so if you think you need an exemption, APPLY.
To be clear, for an exemption what YOU GET is an OUT for paying the TAX imposed by the Affordable Care Act, for NOT having insurance. It does nothing towards getting you insurance and does NOTHING in terms of the medical bills you owe if you get medical care.
OK, so to apply to get out of paying the TAX for not having health insurance:
If you don’t have health insurance and you believe you CANNOT get it, first see if you can somehow get some coverage. In today’s health economy even a single visit to a doctor can cost a lot of money that some health insurance policies can help with. Even if you can only get a catastrophic plan, IF something happens you’ll likely be better protected than if you have no health insurance.
But IF you have no health insurance AND you are not planning to buy some health insurance, you should NOT have to pay the TAX for having health insurance if you have a good reason for your choice. That’s where this application comes in.
You should apply for an exemption if you are uninsured because you have to APPLY to OBTAIN the exemption to get it. Yes, you have to keep paperwork. In other words the exemption is not automatic.
The ACA does say that you don’t have to apply for the exemption if you are not required to pay taxes. Remember, you may still be required to file a state tax return if you earn a certain amount that doesn’t meet the federal tax levels that require a tax return.
OK, so back to being uninsured and getting an exemption. See if you’re exempt. The Application for Exemption from Shared Responsibility (the Individual Mandate) can be found here: http://marketplace.cms.gov/getofficialresources/publications-and-articles/hardship-exemption.pdf.
Even if you think you’re going to NOT be exempt, double check because there are 14 reasons that might help you obtain an exemption including the following (in parentheses the proof you must supply with your application is included):
IF YOU WERE EVICTED IN THE PAST 6 MOS. (copy of eviction or foreclosure notice)
YOU RECEIVED A SHUT-OFF NOTICE FROM A UTILITY COMPANY. (copy of shut-off notice)
IF YOU HAD MEDICAL EXPENSES YOU COULDN’T PAY IN THE LAST 24 MOS. (copies of medical bills)
YOU RECENTLY EXPERIENCED THE DEATH OF A CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER. (copy of death certificate OR newspaper obituary)
YOU WERE DETERMINED INELIGIBLE FOR MEDICAID BECAUSE YOUR STATE DIDN’T EXPAND MEDICAID. (copy of notice of denial for Medicaid)
Even if you don’t end up getting the exemption, since managing your paperwork ALWAYS works in your favor and obtaining more information about how things work that can save you money is ALWAYS useful, go through the exercise.
