Is the ACA mandate still in effect?

Asked by: Brittany Hammes  |  Last update: July 17, 2025
Score: 4.8/5 (42 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While the ACA individual mandate is no longer in effect, certain states apply their own health insurance mandates, some of which have financial penalties.

Is the ACA mandate gone?

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.

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 is the penalty for ACA 2024?

Employers Not Offering Coverage: For 2024, an ALE that does not offer coverage or that offers coverage to fewer than 95% of its full-time employees (and their dependents) during the calendar year owes a penalty equal to the number of full-time employees employed for the year (minus up to 30) multiplied by $2,970, as ...

Is the Affordable Care Act still in effect 2020?

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What is the ACA employer mandate 2025?

Generally requires applicable large employers to offer minimum essential coverage that is affordable and provides minimum value to all full-time employees (and their children to age 26) to avoid potential penalties.

How can I avoid ACA penalty?

To avoid this penalty notice, employers must adhere to the appropriate ACA filing and furnishing deadlines for the applicable tax year. Employers have until March 1 each year to furnish the required 1095-C forms to their full-time staff.

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.

Will Obamacare be available in 2025?

Marketplace Open Enrollment on HealthCare.gov ran through January 15. Consumers who enrolled by midnight local time on January 15 got coverage that will start February 1, 2025.

What is the penalty for employer mandate in 2025?

Section 4980H(a) penalty: ALEs must pay a monthly penalty of $241.67 or an annual penalty of $2,900 per employee. This penalty applies if they fail to offer MEC to 95% of their full-time employees and their dependents.

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 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)

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.

Which states have not expanded ACA?

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.

How can I avoid paying back my premium tax credit?

Report any changes in your income during the year to the Marketplace, so your credit can be adjusted and you can avoid any significant repayments at the end of the year.

Who is not eligible for Obamacare?

Must live in the United States. Must be a U.S. citizen or national (or be lawfully present). Learn about eligible immigration statuses. Cannot be incarcerated in prison or jail.

Do taxpayers still qualify for the premium tax credit?

For tax years 2021 through 2025, Congress temporarily expanded eligibility for the Premium Tax Credit by eliminating the requirement that a taxpayer's household income may not be more than 400 percent of the federal poverty line.

How many times have Republicans tried to repeal Obamacare?

After the July 27, 2017 vote on the Health Care Freedom Act, Newsweek "found at least 70 Republican-led attempts to repeal, modify or otherwise curb the Affordable Care Act since its inception as law on March 23, 2010."

Is the Affordable Care Act the same as Obamacare?

“Obamacare” and the “Affordable Care Act” are the SAME thing. A recent article in the New York Times reported survey results showing that one-third of the people surveyed did not know that “Obamacare” and the “Affordable Care Act” refer to the same law.

Is ACA still mandatory?

Residents of California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C. are required to buy health insurance or face a penalty, unless they have an exemption. Maryland and Vermont require residents to report their health insurance status but do not have a financial penalty for being uninsured.

Which state does not require health insurance?

New Jersey, California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia require their residents to have health insurance coverage or face penalties. Vermont recommends that residents have coverage, but there's no noncompliance penalty.