May 24, 2013 Legislative Update Affordable Care Act Question of the Week: Individual Mandate We have received a number of questions about the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, most U.S. citizens and legal residents will be required to have a minimum level of health care coverage. If you have a general question about an Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision, contact your account representative. Q: Does an individual have to be covered for at least nine months out of the calendar year to avoid a tax penalty under the individual mandate? A: The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released a proposed rule in January that clarified that short gaps in coverage won't trigger the coverage requirement, which means that temporarily unemployed individuals won’t be fined for losing their health coverage between jobs. For more information, HHS and the Internal Revenue Service released a joint fact sheet on the proposed rule. |