Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Facing Obamacare Tax Penalty? You Have More Time To Enroll This Year
McClatchy: Uninsured Get 45 More Days To Avoid Tax Penalty Next Year
An estimated 3 million to 6 million individuals and households that face a tax penalty for not having health insurance in 2014 will get an extra 45 days to secure 2015 coverage – and thereby escape the same penalty next year. (Pugh, 2/20)
The Fiscal Times: Obamacare Tax Mandate Forces Deadline Extension
The White House is giving some uninsured people six more weeks to sign up for coverage in order to avoid Obamacare’s tax penalty for not having health insurance. (Ehley, 2/20)
The New York Times' Upshot: A Second Chance To Avoid A Second Tax Penalty Over Obamacare
The health law requires everyone who can afford insurance to obtain it — and charges people who don’t a fee. The fees that will be hitting people’s mailboxes for failing to get insurance last year will be relatively low — $95 a person or 1 percent of their income — but they rise next year. Now people who get those bills and still haven’t signed up for 2015 will get a chance to sign up in March and April. Federal officials provided no estimates of how many people would be affected, but it will certainly be less than six million, because not everyone facing a fine has failed to get insurance for this year. (Sanger-Katz, 2/20)
NBC News: Feds Grant Obamacare Tax Extension
There's another Obamacare break — the administration is offering a special enrollment period for Americans who didn't realize they would have to pay a tax if they don't have health insurance. (Fox, 2/20)
Dallas Morning News: Health Insurance Confusion Likely For Many Filing Taxes
Taxpayers are just starting to learn the complex connection between the Affordable Care Act and taxes. For the first time, taxpayers will have to state whether they had health insurance through an employer, a health insurance exchange or a private insurance policy. (Yip, 2/22)
The Sacramento Bee: Covered California Extends Enrollment To April 30
The window for many Californians to sign up for health coverage widened Friday when the state exchange said it would extend this month’s deadline to enroll in a plan until the end of April. (Sangree, 2/20)
