- There are 317 million Americans. Only 4 million will pay Obamacare's individual mandate. That's a whopping 1.26%. There are now more than 25 exemptions to it; some of which rely on the honor system. Kill it, already. (Here and here for all of exemptions.)
Obama administration officials and other supporters of the Affordable Care Act say they worry that the tax-filing season will generate new anger as uninsured consumers learn that they must pay tax penalties and as many people struggle with complex forms needed to justify tax credits they received in 2014 to pay for health insurance.
The White House has already granted some [There were 25 just a month ago.] exemptions and is considering more to avoid a political firestorm. ...
Federal officials have authorized more than 30 types of exemptions from the penalty for not having insurance. One is available to low-income people who live in states that did not expand Medicaid. Another is available to people who would have to pay premiums amounting to more than 8 percent of their household income. The government will also allow a variety of hardship exemptions and in most cases [but far more importantly, not in all cases] will require taxpayers to send in documents as evidence of hardship. ...Note that the reason the White House has added more exemptions to the individual mandate is not to make the law work better. It's not to ensure more folks are covered or that the cost of care is reduced: the original stated goals of PPACA. No, it is purely political.
The vast majority of elected officials do not have the intestinal fortitude to fine their constituency. Hence administrative agencies are used to make a bad law worse lest it offend potential voters. PPACA is a butchered shadow of the 2,500 pages that were passed without reading in 2010. It is now a 30,000 to 40,000 page maze of bureaucracy and political favoritism.
