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yo_john117 on 25 May 2013
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Kasz216 said:
yo_john117 said:
What happens if I still don't have a job and can't afford to pay for this (from what I hear, expensive) universal healthcare? Do I just keep getting fines wracked up and go to jail or something?

This is a serious question, I honestly have no idea how the universal health care will work except that you are required to pay (much like you have to pay for car insurance if you have a car).


I don't think it's 100% set in stone.  

However, last i checked, the fines were more or less waived for the poor because they are based on income.  

EDIT: This was much harder to find then it should be.

That is because the vast majority of us either have health insurance, or are exempted from the mandate for any one of a number of reasons.  For example, at the end of 2014 you will owe no tax if:

  • your income is low enough that your share of premiums (after federal subsidies and employer contributions) would total more than 8 percent of your income;
  • your income is below the income tax filing threshold, and so you’re not required to file taxes;
  • you were uninsured for less than three months of the year (If over three, the penalty is pro-rated);

http://www.healthbeatblog.com/2012/08/the-affordable-care-acts-penalty-if-you-dont-buy-health-insurance-in-2014how-much-will-you-pay/


Which of course brings to question just how much this will change since the poor uninsured will still remain uninsured and uncovered until they need medical care.  Hell, I'm pretty sure i'll be able to DROP my health insurane and save some money for a couple years.  Pretty uch everybody can.

 

You figure even for a healthy young person you'd need a penalty of around 1,560 to justify having health insurance.  Since that's $130 a month.(Which is cheap for insurance)

Unless the tax gets higher then it is in 2016... it seems like there is little reason to have health insurance...

http://www.healthinsurance.org/learn/obamacare-penalty-calculator/

So essentially the most this health care can cost is 8% of your total wages?

And it looks like if you opt out you have to pay near nothing.

 

If both those stay true then this isn't as bad as I thought.