In their relentlesslynegative pursuit to repeal health care reform, Republicans have now fallen back to their predictable anti-tax rhetoric to attack the Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act. What the law does is prevent a handful of individuals from “free-riding" off the health care system and thus increasing the cost of uncompensated care for the rest of us. The free rider policy that Republicans are attacking has strong Republican roots and is a key feature of Governor Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts health care law. In fact, he touted its necessity and effectiveness in 2006 saying this policy, “is essential for bringing the health care costs down for everyone and getting everyone the health insurance they need."
The requirement protects taxpayers from being forced to cover the cost of a very small group of people who can afford health insurance, but choose to remain without coverage.
The vast majority of Americans will never have to pay a penalty. The law anticipates that most people will have access to affordable health care through an employer, the Exchange or a public program and will take advantage of the opportunity to obtain or maintain such coverage. In addition, there are three key exceptions to the penalty:
o Those who are uninsured because their coverage is unaffordable
o Those who are uninsured and do not file taxes because their incomes are too low
o Those who would encounter “hardship" by paying the penalty
This means that about 98 percent of Americans will not have to pay any penalty for failing to have health insurance.
The only people who will have to pay a modest penalty are those who refuse to take responsibility for their own health care and instead force the rest of us to pick up the bill. By irresponsibly choosing to forgo insurance when they have the means to purchase it and market reforms that make it available, these free-riders force American families to pay a hidden health annual tax of at least $1,017.
