Californians without health insurance will pay a penalty — or not – By Bernard J. Wolfson (Kaiser Health News) / Dec 23 2019
The Golden State will join four states and Washington, D.C., in requiring their residents to have health coverage and penalizing those without it.
Californians, be warned: A new state law could make you liable for a hefty tax penalty if you do not have health insurance next year and beyond.
But some of you need not worry: The law contains several exemptions that will allow certain people to avoid the penalty, among them prisoners, low-income residents and those living abroad.
“It will be really important that people get clear guidance and instruction to make sure they don’t inadvertently pay a penalty when they are eligible for an exemption,” says Laurel Lucia, director of the Health Care Program at the University of California-Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education.
California’s penalty is modeled on the one originally in the federal Affordable Care Act. Congress eliminated the federal penalty, effective this year. On Dec. 18, a federal appeals court struck down the health care law’s mandate that most Americans get coverage.
The Golden State will join Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, D.C., in requiring their residents to have health coverage and dinging those without it.
Most types of insurance, including Medi-Cal, Medicare and employer-sponsored coverage, will satisfy California’s coverage requirement. People who purchase insurance for themselves and their families, either through Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange, or the open market, will have until Jan. 31 to buy a health plan for 2020.
If you aren’t covered and owe a penalty for 2020, it will be due when you file your tax return in 2021. The penalty will amount to $695 for an adult and half that much for dependent children. Some people with higher incomes instead will have to pay 2.5% of their income, which could make their penalty quite a bit heftier.
Continue to article: http://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/californians-without-health-insurance-will-pay-a-penalty-or-not
