IRS Walks Back Individual Mandate Requirement To Ease ACA Burdens On Taxpayers
The Internal Revenue Service had previously announced that for the first time it was going to reject any 2016 tax forms that didn't have information filled out on whether the taxpayer had complied with the requirement to get coverage or risk fines. But following an executive order directing agencies to relax rules around the health law, that plan has been rolled back.
The Associated Press:
Following Trump Order, IRS Shifts On Health Care Mandate
The IRS says it's following President Donald Trump's executive order on health care by easing enforcement of the unpopular Obama-era requirement for people to have coverage or risk fines. Trump directed federal agencies to ease the health law's rules after he took office. (2/15)
The Washington Post:
IRS Won’t Withhold Tax Refunds If Americans Ignore ACA Insurance Requirement
The Internal Revenue Service has revoked an Obama-era instruction to taxpayers that was taking effect during the current filing season as a way to further compliance with the ACA’s requirement that most Americans carry health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Under the instruction, the IRS had announced that it would no longer process tax returns for people who fail to send a notice with their returns that they have insurance, are exempt from the requirement or are paying the fine. (Goldstein, 2/15)
The Fiscal Times:
The IRS Has Just Made Obamacare’s Individual Mandate Optional
Since the formal launching of the health care program in 2014, taxpayers have been given the option of checking a box on line 61 of their 1040 federal tax returns declaring whether or not they or members of their family have qualified health insurance -- and providing documentation to prove it. Even with this voluntary approach, the IRS collected individual mandate payments from 8.1 million tax returns in 2015 averaging $210 for a total of $1.7 billion, according to an analysis of IRS data by Investor’s Business Daily. (Pianin, 2/15)
The Hill:
IRS Loosening Enforcement Of ObamaCare Mandate
It is unclear how much of an effect the decision will have. The mandate remains the law, and people are still supposed to pay a penalty for lacking coverage. Insurers are worried that the Trump administration could ease up on the mandate or create more exemptions to it. The mandate helps bring in healthy enrollees to balance out the sick ones and prevent premiums from spiking. (Sullivan, 2/15)
