Obamacare Penalties to Rise Sharply in 2016

Failure to obtain health care insurance for yourself and your family members can be fairly costly in 2016. The penalty for an individual not having coverage is $695. For a family, it's $695 per adult plus $347.50 per child, with a family maximum of $2,085. Such are the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare). After 2016, however, the penalties are merely indexed for inflation, so there shouldn't be any steep increases from the 2016 model. However, exemptions abound, though government officials try to paint them as difficult to obtain (really?). Here are reasons for legally not having health insurance:

• Homelessness;
• Eviction and foreclosure;
• The receipt of a shut-off notice from a utility company;
• A recent bankruptcy;
• Domestic violence;
• The death of a close family member;
• Fire, flood, or other natural or human-caused disaster that substantially damaged your property;
• Medical expenses that couldn't be paid in the past 24-months that resulted in substantial debt;
• An unexpected surge in spending tied to caring for an ill, disabled, or aging family member;
• An eligibility appeal decision showing coverage eligibility for a period a person was forced to be without coverage;
• If your state didn't expand Medicaid coverage, but you would have qualified for it if they had; or
• Individual plan cancellation and a finding that Affordable Care Act plans are unaffordable.

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For the full story on how the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare) affects your business, no matter how large or small, please obtain a copy of our comprehensive yet easy-to-follow Affordable Care Act Compliance Kit.

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