As open enrollment begins for the Affordable Care Act, many health insurance customers are finding the new premium prices almost too much to handle. For those who are wondering whether it might be worth it to just drop insurance, however, there is a price.
A new internet tool released by a foundation can help people understand what that price is.
There are two consequences of not having insurance. There’s the obvious, not being able to pay for medical care. Then there’s the penalty people have to pay at tax time if they didn’t carry insurance. (This penalty, and the mandate under the law that every individual must have health insurance, are still in effect despite failed attempts to repeal them.)
The Kaiser Family Foundation on Tuesday released its "individual mandate penalty calculator." People can input their personal information, and then calculate the amount of money they would likely have to pay as a penalty for going uninsured in 2018. A link to the calculator is here.
Premiums are spiking next year across the individual market in Georgia, in large part as a result of the Trump administration's decision to stop paying a subsidy that helped the Obamacare system work. The Affordable Care Act is also known as Obamacare.
FAQ: Read the AJC's key facts on Obamacare 2017
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