the fine is either $95 per person/$285 for a family (not $984) or 1% of your annual household income whichever is greater. even if you haven't qualified for medicaid before you might now. the law expands the guidelines making it possible for a couple earning up to roughly $21 000 annually to get medicaid coverage. of course many states aren't expanding the program. if you live in one that is not you'll still want to shop on the marketplace for insurance because you'll likely qualify for a substantial subsidy to lower the cost of coverage. if medicaid isn't an option and you can't find a plan that costs you less than 8% of your income you won't be penalized for not having insurance.
both my husband and i have been out of work for years. we own too much to get medicaid. . how are we supposed to get health insurance so that we don't have to pay the $984 fine? that's $984 per person. the federal government told me we could use "low cost clinics " but that's not health insurance so we'll still be responsible for this penalty. so what's the point of this law? how can they make people who are out of work pay even more money that they don't have?