Easy to stay out of ObamaCare
Posted by jyokela 11 years, 2 months ago to Government
At first I wanted to be thrown in prison in protest for not abiding by the law, but I found out that they won't do anything if you don't follow the law. Just pay less then you would owe in taxes and don't pay the fine. Done.
"Once people realize they can game the ObamaCare penalty by (1) remaining uninsured, (2) withholding only what they need to pay their taxes, and (3) signing up for ObamaCare (during “open season”) if they need coverage, it’s possible millions will consider being uninsured or buying a limited, non-qualified health policy a good bet."
The last line suggests that there could very well be a black market for health insurance, no different than the underground market during Prohibition, and the War on Drugs.
What a mess!
Some churches and large employers already do their own insurance pool, basically running their own little insurance company for the group. What if conservative churches and other conservative organizations did this with the intent of destroying PPACA? Everyone would pay into the group risk pool. They would pay their $58/mo ($695/yr) penalty to the gov't. If they have an urgent need, they use the non-qualified risk pool at church unless/until they can sign up for a qualified plan during open enrollment. At that point they use the qualified plan benefits for their treatment and only supplement with the non-qualified plan if the qualified plan isn't doing the job. If/when their health improves, they go back to paying the $58 fee. The $58 fee is a pain but small compared to premiums even for a pre-PPACA plan for a healthy young person.
If even half of the rightwingers who think "ObamaCare will destroy American!!!" implemented this, it would seriously cripple PPACA. Gov't would be forced to raise the penalty, resort to stronger measures to force people to buy insurance, or abandon the plan. Either way anti-PPACA nuts win.
Those who are owed money could see their refunds docked by the penalty amount. Others, however, will likely just get nasty letters.
"The penalties have little teeth," Angoff said. "Congress didn't give the IRS too much power."
From: http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/13/news/eco...
Aetna and Coventry have already pulled out of the Maryland exchange. They reason they can’t provide coverage at as low of as a rate as the state wanted.
The inmates are running the asylum....
Are the rules the same in each state?
Yes. The rules about paying penalties are the same whether the Marketplace is run by your state or the federal government."
https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-someo...
I didn't understand the part about withholding. Sure it will be harder for them to collect the penalty fee, but I'm guessing they have their ways of collecting it. My wife and I are self-employed and send in our own withholding the form of 1040-ES quarterlies. That doesn't mean we don't have to pay taxes/fees we don't like.
Another question I had was about non-qualified coverage. Is anyone selling it? My provider is phasing out non-qualified plans or modifying them so they are qualified.
I agree that prices for healthy people not on a group plan are going up. It's happening to my family right now.
Obamacare somehow managed to give the IRS the task of collecting the fines, but not the means to do this, when the taxpayer simply goes 'shrug'. Everything is dependent on the taxpayer being forthwith on their annual tax forms.
What I submit will happen, and with no real legal opposition, is that the SCOTUS ruling that Obamacare is really only a new tax, will allow the IRS to fall upon their normal delinquent tax collection methods. Everything that you own will be subject to lien, or worse.
"What happens if I don't pay the fee?
The IRS will hold back the amount of the fee from any future tax refunds. There are no liens, levies, or criminal penalties for failing to pay the fee."
https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions/#q...
As of now, no ObamaCare promise has come true. Period.
Are you the first American to take the IRS for it's word?
When I first heard about this law years ago, my plan was to quit my job not by insurance and make them come arrest me. I have since found out that it is very hard to be in noncompliance without being a business owner/self employed. See this article for exemptions to mandate: http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/20...