There are both legal and precautionary reasons to have health insurance. People who claim bankruptcy most often do so because of medical bills resulting from an unpredictable accident.
If something happens to you, you need to make sure that your medical bills do not financially drain you and your family.
Imagine your 401K or your child’s college fund being used to pay off hospital bills. Health insurance will protect you from life’s unforeseen medical needs. Legally speaking, it is now mandated by the federal government for every individual to have health insurance according to the Affordable Healthcare Act (otherwise known as Obama Care).
Does everybody really have to have health Insurance? Are some people exempt?
There are a few exceptions to the federal mandate. In order to qualify for these exceptions, you will need to prove on your tax documents that these were your circumstances. Below is a basic summary of exceptions recognized by the government.
- You went less than 3 months without insurance. So most of the year, you had insurance. You will not be fined for those 3 months.
- You don’t make enough money. If the cheapest health insurance costs more than 8% of your income, or you don’t have to file tax returns because your annual income is too low then you will not be fined.
- You belong to a group that is exempt. If you qualify to get insurance through an Indian Health Services provider or you are a member of a recognized religious sect that has religious objections to insurance then you may qualify for an exemption.
- You are/were not physically in the U.S. You were incarcerated or not lawfully residing in the U.S.
- For a complete list of exemptions click here.
Call us today and we can help determine if you qualify for the exemptions and how to apply for them.
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