The average Obamacare tax penalty for not obtaining heath insurance in 2016 will be $969 per household, 47 percent higher than the average $661 penalty for uninsured households this year, according to a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The individual mandate penalty, upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012, varies based on whether a person qualified for a premium subsidy, which is determined by level of income. A person who qualifies for subsidies but chooses to forgo insurance in 2016 faces an average penalty of $738 per household, nearly double the $389 average for this year, according to The Huffington Post. And households without insurance that earn too much to qualify for financial aid to buy Obamacare plans will be fined even more - an average of $1,450, compared to $1,177 for 2015, reports CNBC.
Obamacare relies on the individual mandate penalty to coerce healthy people into enrolling in health insurance plans. Their penalties and premiums are used to help pay for subsidies, which are offered to people with incomes between the federal poverty level of $12,000 per person and four times that amount, with the subsidies being more generous for lower-income households.
Kaiser found that in 2016, 3.5 million uninsured people will have incomes low enough that they will be able to buy coverage through an inexpensive bronze plan and pay $0 in monthly premiums, or at least less than their fine would be for not having insurance.
But some 7.1 million people will find that the least expensive Obamacare plan would cost more than the mandate penalty, meaning many may choose to just accept the fine, which is added to a household's tax bill or deducted from its refund when income taxes are filed, Kaiser said.
Open enrollment for Obamacare began on Nov. 1 and will end on Jan. 31. More than 2 million people have signed up so far, including 700,000 new enrollees. In all, the administration hopes to see 10 million people sign up and pay for coverage, according to the Washington Examiner.
