Help me understand this Obamacare point...

[PSD Ryan]

I am starting a new job and will be one month without health insurance until coverage from the new job kicks in. My fiancee is in the same situation.

Apparently, every month you go in 2014 without insurance you are penalized $95 or 1% of taxable income (income x .01 / 12), whichever is greater. For each of us, it would be the $95.

I looked up some stuff and see a "short coverage exemption" for non coverage for less than 3 months. I'm not sure if this is for this kind of situation, or if it was just for enrolling when Obamacare started.

Am I going to just have to suck it up and fork over $100? It's cheaper than COBRA, and I haven't used my health insurance in 10 years. I don't even go for checkups. I see no point in going through the hassle of buying private insurance for the one month that I have to wait, and I'd like to not pay Obama his $100 for being uninsured for such a short amount of time. How do they verify you didn't have insurance anyway?

From what I'm understanding, the short coverage gap exemption, because I haven't had any gap this year, should keep me from having to pay the fee or buy insurance.

[JustinJ]

http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/13/news...acare-penalty/

[sqiggy]

Apparently, every month you go in 2014 without insurance you are penalized $95 or 1% of taxable income (income x .01 / 12), whichever is greater. For each of us, it would be the $95.

I think you got it all wrong. I was told if you didn't have insurance by the "deadline" (think it was March 31, 2014, but it was changed so much I forget), THEN you would be fined $95.
Besides, how are "they" gonna know you went without ins. for a month or 2!!

[Landrover]

one month.........change of job.......non issue! Hopefully not the worst 30 days of your life medically.

[hoythunter]

Technically you are still covered. If something should happen during that month you are without insurance, you still qualify for and can pay for COBRA.

We went through the same thing this year when my wife changed jobs. She knows more about all of it than I do, but we went "without" for the month knowing that if we had something major pop up, we had options. COBRA is expensive, but its retroactive if you need it.

[Ouch]

We have to pass it to know what's in it.

[PSD Ryan]

Its passed and we still don't know what's in it

[Biggs]

Technically you are still covered. If something should happen during that month you are without insurance, you still qualify for and can pay for COBRA.

We went through the same thing this year when my wife changed jobs. She knows more about all of it than I do, but we went "without" for the month knowing that if we had something major pop up, we had options. COBRA is expensive, but its retroactive if you need it.

Yes!!^^^^ I think you can buy it out to 60 days from last day of insured. Saved me tons when I cut the tip of my finger off the day after I lost insurance.


If something were to happen during that month, buy cobra and its like you were never uninsured.

[R Herline Jr]

Oduma needs to go away

[kumathebear]

Had this same problem....when it was all said and done, the COBRA cost me $75 more a month but I kept my same EXCELLENT COVERAGE. The government insurance would NOT pay for prescriptions UNLESS they were generic and the coverage was all HMO. HMO means I had to use THEIR physicians, THEIR hospitals (if I needed one) and if I used a NON-Generic prescription, NON-approved doctor, NON-approved hospital then it paid ZERO...NADA...NOTHING! So the way I evaluated it, I would have been paying a monthly premium that cost $75 less but if NOT COVERED BY THE IDIOT RULES, $$$ wasted. Most don't realize how lousy the coverage is until they REALLY look and research it. Did not answer your question, but take the time and read ALL the implications.