The federal penalty for having no health insurance is will jump to a whopping $695 per year or 2.5 percent of taxable income (which ever is greater) in 2016. That’s a jump from $325 or 2 percent of income this year. When President Obama’s (Un)Affordable Care Act first passed, the penalty was $95 or 1 percent of income.
Despite the large increase in the penalty that would—by every assumption—encourage more people to enroll, the Obama administration has not set an ambitious goal for the number of customers expected for 2016. That’s probably because the administration realizes relatively few people really want—or even like—the (UN)Affordable Care Act.
The goal is 10 million enrollees paying their premiums by the end of 2016 on HealthCare.gov and state insurance markets. Oddly enough, 10 million is about the number of current Obamacare enrollees. It’s not only an unambitious goal; it is well below the number originally projected by the administration for 2016.
The news comes as projections of soaring deductibles have sparked public outrage. As Shift reported, the deductible for Seattle’s “silver” plan will soar 175%, from $2,000 this year to $5,500 in 2016. And, the out-of-pocket maximum will jump 30%, from $5,000 to $6,500.
Leave a Reply