How can anyone justify charging this much money as a penalty for not buying health insurance?

The penalty for 2017 is the greater of:

* $695 for each adult and $347.50 for each child, but no more than $2,085 per family, OR

* 2.5% of your family yearly taxable income, but no more than the national average annual premium for a bronze plan sold through the Marketplace

http://www.webmd.com/health-insurance/tax-penalties-aag

A typical nuclear family with two parents and two kids would have to pay $2085 per year or more if they earn enough. Uninsured people have to pay this tax and they get literally nothing in return. Is this insane or am I insane?

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

SW-User

Former tax preparer here. This tax will be offset for the majority of poor people with the income credits they get. They will rarely ever have to pay anything out of pocket.

The fact is that one of the biggest contributors to high healthcare costs before the ACA was the emergency care given to uninsured patients. Everyone else receiving medical care had to pay for them. By insuring them, that helps to mitigate those added costs. Not as much as a universal healthcare system would, but it's the compromise we decided on.

Invisible · 26-30, M

What about people who don't qualify for income credits?

Invisible · 26-30, M

This doesn't make sense to me because the people who are poor are the ones who wouldn't be able to pay for emergency care. If they're the only ones who don't have to pay this tax, then how does it solve the problem?

SW-User

Then they probably work full time and will most likely be able to be insured through their employer. If they make enough to pay for their own medical bills, then they're part of a lucky few.

Most people don't make enough for regular doctor visits without insurance, so they probably put off medical care until it's too late and much more expensive than if they had taken preventive measures.

Others with preexisting conditions would never have been able to afford what they needed to survive without going into bankruptcy. Things like cancer don't discriminate between the ones who can afford medical care and those who can't, so having insurance in place smooths things out between those who need the care and those who are luckier.

Ultimately insurance is just one of the many issues that we had to fix with our healthcare system, so the ACA fell short of a lot of things. The good thing is that more people are insured in case of emergency, and that overall healthcare costs have dropped in recent years

SW-User

@Invisible: poor people never go to the doctor until it's too late. Medical bills become much more expensive due to the lack of preventive measures, and they will most likely default on their medical bills. That leaves it up to everyone else to pay for it.

By having them insured, you can offset these additional costs

jackjjackson · M

So instead of hospitals paying for free ER care those who actually for insurance pay for that "free" ER care?

SW-User

@Jackjjacksonjr: The employer-provided healthcare that was came after the ACA isn't free. Everyone that qualifies has to pay into it. By having more people pooling funds this way, the costs are mitigated for everyone that needs them.

jackjjackson · M

@HalfCactus:

Of course. My point is that it's free for the uninsured and that the insured pay for them.

SW-User

@Jackjjacksonjr: The uninsured will only have access to emergency care

jackjjackson · M

@HalfCactus:

We all know who pays for THAT.