Wow. Didn't see this coming.
From
here.
So in other words, if I understand this wording correctly, there is a 'penalty' for not having insurance, but it is not subject to certain 'enforcement provisions.' Like the quote says, what the IRS usually does when you don't pay your taxes(show up at your door, take you to jail if you don't)....that isn't authorized to be done in order to collect this 'penalty.'
NOT having health insurance, or not complying with the mandate that everyone should have health insurance is not subject to criminal or civil penalties. In other words, if you don't have health insurance, you won't be fined or taken to jail because of it. And there is no interest charged on your failure to have health insurance.
Long story short, the IRS is not allowed to actually enforce the mandate by any means. No past due accrual, interest, no penalties, no liens or garnishments for failure to pay, and no civil or criminal liability. Without enforcement, and no exclusion of preexisting conditions allowed, what will happen?
Well, unless I'm completely stupid, given that there is absolutely nothing in place to keep people from not having health insurance till they actually get sick, along with the fact that insurance companies aren't allowed to turn away someone based on pre-existing conditions the system surely has to go bankrupt.
The health care bill explicitly states that insurance companies are NOT allowed to turn anyone away with pre-existing conditions, what is going to stop people from waiting till they're sick to get health insurance?
Assuming I'm not completely misreading ALL of this, who is the moron who came up with this bright idea? I might not like the health care bill, especially the individual mandate, but I also realize that if you're going to force insurance companies to take patients with pre-existing conditions, you have to force EVERYONE to have health insurance.
Now apparently ALL that is being thrown out.
WTF.