Fewer Mass. residents penalized for failing to enroll in health care plan
Reprints
BOSTON—The number of uninsured Massachusetts residents assessed penalties for not enrolling in a health care plan—as required under the states landmark health care reform law—continues to drop.
Some 44,000 Massachusetts tax filers were assessed the penalty in 2010, the most recent year available. That’s down from 48,000 in 2009 and 53,000 in 2008, according to a Monday report by the Massachusetts Health Connector, which offers coverage through two insurance exchanges, and the state Department of Revenue.
The penalty for not having coverage depends on the person’s income. In 2012, the maximum penalty for those with incomes that exceed 300% of the federal poverty level is $105 for each month that they are not covered by health insurance, or $1,260 a year.
However, the penalties for people whose income is less than 300% of the federal poverty level ranges from $19 to $58 a month.
Penalties, though, do not apply for individuals whose incomes are less than 150% of the federal poverty level, which is $16,344 for an individual and $33,528 for a family of four. Those individuals are eligible for free health insurance coverage, with premiums paid by the state.
Penalties also do not apply to those that can prove that coverage is not affordable.
Imposing penalties on those without health insurance is a key part of the 2006 Massachusetts health care reform law. The law’s goal is to move the state close to universal coverage. At 5%, averaged over 2009 and 2010, Massachusetts had the lowest uninsured rate of any state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Read Next
-
Mass. proposes higher penalties for uninsured
BOSTON—Massachusetts residents who do not have health insurance would face a higher financial penalty in 2012 under newly proposed rules.
