Smokers Face Huge ObamaCare Surcharge (Higher premiums and penalties)

[ABX]

This is why you are seeing reports of people having higher penalties than the Administration promised. They aren't giving you the full story.

Nearly three years after the then Democratic-controlled Congress passed and President Obama signed the Affordable Care act into law, Americans are still finding out what’s in it. The latest gem is a huge surcharge on smokers that could effectively make their health insurance so expensive that they can no longer afford it.According to the New York Daily News:

    The Affordable Care Act — or “Obamacare” — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies up to 50 percent higher premiums starting next Jan. 1.

    For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year. A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums.

    Younger smokers could be charged lower penalties under rules proposed last fall by the Obama administration. But older smokers could face a heavy hit on their household budgets at a time in life when smoking-related illnesses tend to emerge....

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/01/25/smokers-face-huge-obamacare-surcharge/

From the reports I'm reading today, they are getting this penalty tacked on if they 'opt out' as well.  That is why you are seeing people report $4k plus penalties for opting-out. Much higher than the $295 promised. I wonder how many other hidden penalties are built into this we'll find out about over the next few weeks.

[ABX]

Additional penalties for being obese.

http://www.northwestohio.com/news/story.aspx?id=853324

As more details about the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare" as some are calling it, come to light, some interesting and potentially controversial items are making headlines.

The latest revelations...smokers and the obese may face stiff penalties under the new law...

[ABX]

Also, even if you don't get the smoking or obesity penalty, people are finding the opt-out penalty is far greater than the administration advertises.

...an uninsured individual with an annual income of $40,000 would pay 1 percent of the difference between $40,000 and the "filing threshold" ($10,000), leaving a total of $30,000 in taxable income. One percent of $30,000 is $300. Since $300 is greater than $95 (the flat fee for an adult), this person would pay a $300 penalty in 2014.

"The amount of the potential tax penalty can be pretty surprising to people who thought it was going to be $95 and then discover the tax could be $1,200 or more because of their personal circumstances....

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-insurance/articles/2013/08/12/should-i-pay-the-obamacare-tax-penalty?int=2d2e1b&page=2

[Oceander]

Have unprotected sex and get AIDS?  You'll be covered.  Have a smoke every once in a while?  You won't even be able to get coverage against getting hit by a bus.

The hypocrisy of liberals knows no bounds.

[ABX]

Have unprotected sex and get AIDS?  You'll be covered.  Have a smoke every once in a while?  You won't even be able to get coverage against getting hit by a bus.

The hypocrisy of liberals knows no bounds.

They seem to be fine-printing these opt out fees more than a gym plays with membership contracts. I wonder how many more of these hidden fees we'll find?  All of this explains why all over Twitter and Facebook, people are saying they are having fees to opt-out in the thousands of dollars instead of $94-$295 like the Administration promised.