Per the title. Assume I have no insurance at this point the penalty for not enrolling is only about 1% of your gross income. Assuming I’m a 55 year old nonsmoking man in good health and reasonable weight what operational factors should be making me run to enroll vs cutting a check for a thousand dollars?
What am I missing? The penalty sounds like a better deal than enrolling for the first year at least.
You won’t go bankrupt if you get sick or in a bad accident.
Here’s to hoping you don’t break an arm or get prostate cancer!
Yep. You get health insurance. That’s a good thing.
You’re not being a dick.
First of all, no one “enrolls in Obamacare.” You either buy health insurance or you don’t. There is no special “Obamacare” insurance you are mandated to enroll in.
And if I read you correctly that $1000 represents 1% of your income, you probably have a job with really great benefits anyway and already have health insurance. And if you don’t, that’s foolish.
The deal is getting health care.
It’s not that complicated: you can pay a penalty and get nothing, or you can pay for health insurance and get health insurance. Depending on your situation and your income, you’re not even saving that much.
The penalty rises to 2% in 2015 and 2.5% in 2016.
I’m a 100% commissioned real estate salesperson and paid as an independent contractor. The job has no benefits beyond the commission check. I am entirely responsible for all my health care costs.
Have to agree with op(somewhat) on this one. First year penalty is low enough to make sense for those in lower income brackets. However $100k should be enough to let you buy insurance.
Well, there certainly is an argument the penalty should be higher, but that’s not the feeling I got from the OP.
I think this is worthy of taking a look at the risk analysis based on age, probability of using insurance. If you are relatively young and have no health problems and have a fairly risk-free lifestyle, insurance premiums may be more of a cost than it is worth. I know it would have been for me. Fortunately, I belong to a union and my employer pays the premiums.
Because at 55 you have hit that time of life when things stop working.
Your colonoscopy will cost at least $1000.
Hallgirl1 works part-time at a store and make slightly more than minimum wage. (Shes in school full time.) Since she lives in Pennsylvania, we don’t have access to the federal benefits which could make healthcare affordable for her. (Thanks Govn. Corbutt!) The lowest quote she could find for healthcare premiums was around $400 a month, which would be nearly all her monthly salary. Because she’s not pregnant, she doesn’t qualify for Medical Assistance. In her case, she’s really left with no choice but to pay the penalty.
Just because one lives a risk-free lifestyle doesn’t mean there are no risks. I know of countless stories of people who ended up in the ER because they had accidents in the ordinary course of their lives.
Your 55 years old and you don’t have ANY health insurance? Not even one of those crappy “major medical” plans that turns out not to pay for anything? And you’ve never had to pay out-of-pocket for a visit to the ER, or torn an ACL and needed surgery or at least physical therapy? Your cholesterol is good and no one in your family has a history of heart problems or cancer showing up when they were in their 50’s?
You are the luckiest person in the world. Seriously. Take the money you would have spent on insurance premiums and buy lottery tickets.
She won’t have to pay the penalty. People with very low incomes are exempt from the mandate (sucks that she can’t get coverage though).