# Is there a penalty (2023) for not participating in US health insurance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 19, 2023, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-penalty-2023-for-not-participating-in-us-health-insurance/978481 "2023-01-19T23:10:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-penalty-2023-for-not-participating-in-us-health-insurance/978481/1 "2023-01-19T23:10:27Z")
I’m currently on an ACA health insurance plan. My wife and I have been considering moving overseas for a year, possibly more. If we get health insurance coverage overseas (private insurance then local nationalized healthcare once we qualify) and drop our ACA coverage, are there any downsides? While visiting the USA, we’d purchase some short-term travel health insurance (because we are definitely not getting caught out here in the states without insurance). We’d still be American citizens. Also, there’s a possibility we could split our time so we’re still here in the USA for longer than a month. I know the ACA used to include penalties for Americans who didn’t maintain coverage (for anyone who wasn’t outside the USA for 330 days per year) … but wasn’t that part of the law eliminated? Related—if/when we move back to the USA full-time, would domestic insurers consider us to have uninterrupted insurance coverage under the above scenario (private/nationalized insurance in a foreign country, and travel insurance while in the USA)? Or would we be penalized in some way if we tried to apply for health insurance again in the USA? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-penalty-2023-for-not-participating-in-us-health-insurance/978481/2 "2023-01-19T23:15:52Z")
There has been no federal penalty since 2019. Some states introduced penalties. My guess is that your liability for a state penalty would be dictated by whether you were deemed resident in that state and liable for state taxes, but this is a sufficiently arcane and technical question I think you need to ask a professional accountant. Unless your state has no penalty anyway, then you’re fine. > **[Do I Have to Have Health Insurance? | eHealth](https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/resources/individual-and-family/does-your-state-require-you-to-have-health-insurance)** > > Learn more about whether you’re required to have health insurance. You may face an individual mandate if you live in a select state. Find out your options with eHealth. > - Massachusetts > - New Jersey > - Vermont > - California > - Rhode Island > - District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-penalty-2023-for-not-participating-in-us-health-insurance/978481/3 "2023-01-20T16:47:01Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > Related—if/when we move back to the USA full-time, would domestic insurers consider us to have uninterrupted insurance coverage under the above scenario (private/nationalized insurance in a foreign country, and travel insurance while in the USA)? Or would we be penalized in some way if we tried to apply for health insurance again in the USA? When you come back to the US, if you get health insurance through a job, it shouldn’t be an issue that you had overseas coverage prior to that. Similarly, if you get insurance through the ACA system, it shouldn’t be an issue. The ACA marketplace is designed to give health insurance to people who didn’t have coverage. If you are just trying to get private insurance, it might be more complicated.