Healthcare Law Penalties Delayed

Last week the Obama Administration announced individuals can now wait until March 31 to enroll into a health insurance plan as mandated under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This six-week delay of penalties is associated with the individual mandate provision of the ACA, which states individuals must get health insurance by January 1. Written in the law is language that says individuals can go without coverage for less than three consecutive months and not pay a fine, meaning they would have until March 31 to enroll. However it also states you have to sign up by the 15th of a given month in order for health insurance to start on the first day of the next month causing confusion for consumers wondering if they could face a tax penalty if they don’t enroll in coverage by Feb. 15th of next year. The White House clarified that you have until the end of March to sign up without receiving a penalty.