Is ACA individual mandate still in effect?

Asked by: Marjorie Muller III  |  Last update: October 2, 2025
Score: 4.7/5 (58 votes)

While the ACA individual mandate is no longer in effect, certain states apply their own health insurance mandates, some of which have financial penalties.

What happened to the ACA individual mandate?

Congress eliminated the federal tax penalty for not having health insurance, effective January 1, 2019. While there is no longer a federal tax penalty for being uninsured, some states (CA, MA, NJ, and RI) and DC have enacted individual mandates and may apply a state tax penalty if you lack health coverage for the year.

Is the ACA employer mandate still in effect?

Employer mandate coverage requirements since 2016

Employers with 50 or more full-time and/or FTE employees must offer affordable/minimum value medical coverage to their full-time employees and their dependents up to the end of the month in which they turn age 26, or they may be subject to penalties.

What does the new mandate for the ACA include?

Today, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury issued new regulations requiring private health plans to cover evidence-based preventive services and to eliminate cost-sharing for preventive care.

Does the federal shared responsibility payment still exist for the individual mandate?

It was one of the many Affordable Care Act tax provisions. The federal tax penalty for violating the mandate was eliminated by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, starting in 2019.

Court rules ACA's individual mandate is unlawful

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What is the ACA shared responsibility penalty for 2024?

A penalty of $2,970 (for 2024) per full-time employee minus the first 30 will be incurred if the employer fails to offer minimum essential coverage to 95 percent of its full-time employees and their dependents, and any full-time employee obtains coverage on the exchange.

Is the Affordable Care Act still in effect?

Together with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 amendment, it represents the U.S. healthcare system's most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Most of the act's provisions are still in effect.

What states have an ACA mandate?

Which states have an Individual Mandate?
  • California.
  • D.C.
  • Massachusetts.
  • New Jersey.
  • Rhode Island.
  • Vermont (but there's currently no financial penalty attached to the mandate)

What is the ACA 30 hour rule?

If an employee is credited with an average of 30 hours per week or more during the Standard Measurement Period, the employee would be eligible for benefits for the upcoming plan year.

Can I refuse health insurance from my employer and get Obamacare?

Obamacare is available to everyone, whether or not their employers offer insurance. From a practical standpoint, though, there are financial consequences to doing this. Often, an employer subsidizes part or all of their employees' coverage.

What is the penalty for employer mandate in 2025?

The adjusted penalty amount for failures occurring in the 2025 calendar year will be $2,900 under Code § 4980H(a) per full-time employee (less the 30-employee reduction) (a $70 decrease from 2024), and $4,350 under Code § 4980H(b) per full-time employee that receives subsidized coverage through an Exchange (a $110 ...

Is there still a federal mandate for health insurance?

Key Takeaways. Health insurance coverage is no longer mandatory at the federal level, as of Jan. 1, 2019. Some states still require you to have health insurance coverage to avoid a tax penalty.

What are the ACA requirements for employers in 2024?

Employers must report employee insurance information with the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) once per year. Information should be submitted to the state using federal Forms 1094-C, 1095-C, and 1095-B. Organizations must also distribute copies to employees.

Does ACA have employer mandate?

The Affordable Care Act does not require businesses to provide health benefits to their workers, but applicable large employers may face penalties if they don't make affordable coverage available.

Is the individual mandate good or bad?

The individual mandate is a bad idea

“The point of the individual mandate is to balance the risk pool, but that's not really what insurance is supposed to do. With car insurance, the idea is not that you want good drivers to pay for accidents caused by bad drivers.

Are American Indian individuals exempt from the individual mandate in the ACA?

Any American Indians, who have received or who are eligible to receive services through an Indian Health Program, are eligible to apply for a Hardship Exemption from the individual mandate. Accessing Exemption from Individual Mandate: Members of a federally recognized Tribe can access the exemption through the I.R.S.

What is the 80 20 rule for ACA?

The 80/20 Rule generally requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of the money they take in from premiums on health care costs and quality improvement activities. The other 20% can go to administrative, overhead, and marketing costs.

What is the 3 month rule for ACA?

The ACA employer mandate rules permit a “limited non-assessment period” as a sort of grace period before which employers will be penalized for failure to offer coverage to a new hire. For new full-time hires, the duration of this period is relatively short (the first three full calendar months of employment).

What is the 9.5% rule for ACA?

The federal poverty line safe harbor generally treats coverage as affordable for a month if the employee required contribution for the month does not exceed 9.5 percent, adjusted annually, of the federal poverty line for a single individual for the applicable calendar year, divided by 12.

Is the ACA individual mandate still in effect?

While the ACA individual mandate is no longer in effect, certain states apply their own health insurance mandates, some of which have financial penalties.

When was the ACA mandate repealed?

The federal individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, which required people to pay a tax penalty if they did not have health insurance, was repealed in 2019.

What states refuse Obamacare?

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was enacted in 2010, but 10 states have not expanded Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides health care for low-income people. They are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Why do people want to get rid of the Affordable Care Act?

They oppose the mandate that all Americans must have health insurance (the individual mandate), and they oppose a government role in health care. Yet Medicare, a mandatory insurance for seniors administered by the federal government since 1965, is overwhelmingly approved by the American public.

What is the highest income to qualify for ACA?

In 2025, you'll typically be eligible for ACA subsidies if you earn between $15,060 and $60,240 as a single person. A family of four is eligible with a household income between $31,200 and $124,800.

How much is Obamacare a month for a single person?

Monthly premiums for Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans vary by state and can be reduced by premium tax credits. The average national monthly health insurance cost for one person on an Affordable Care Act (ACA) plan without premium tax credits in 2024 is $477.