This is the first year where taxes and health insurance intersect. The uninsured who failed to get health insurance coverage on the Affordable Care Act's online Marketplace during the regular enrollment period must pay a penalty when they file their 2014 taxes, something likely to take a few by surprise.
But a special enrollment period, which starts Sunday March 15th, gives the uninsured an opportunity to get covered for 2015.
"The special enrollment period is intended to get people who are either unaware of the requirement, or owed a fee in 2014, to give them a chance to enroll." says Federal Marketplace CEO Kevin Counihan. "We're certainly not in the business of looking to collect fees or to penalize people. We're here to facilitate their access to affordable insurance coverage."
While signing up now won't expunge the 2014 penalty, it will allow people to avoid the fees next year.
Meanwhile, health access advocates are gearing up to assist those with questions about the process.
"Why the federal government decided to start this on a Sunday is hard for us to explain," says Dr. Wendy Wolf, President and CEO of Maine Health Access Foundation. But, she says, there should be plenty of time for folks to get covered before the deadline at the end of April. However it's the April 15th tax deadline that will really kick folks into gear. "I think like everything else we'll see more and more interest in signing up if they're eligible, towards the tax filing date. Human beings, you know we're all like that. We get pushed by deadlines and we tend to act closer and closer to the deadline."
The penalty for not having insurance in 2014 is 95 dollars per person or one percent of household income, whichever is greater. Those penalties will ratchet up in subsequent years.
The deadline for the special enrollment is April 30th. To be eligible, applicants must be on the hook for a current penalty, and attest that they were unaware of the consequences of failing to enroll.
