HHS has seen an uptick in one key demographic this open enrollment period: the number of young adults, under age 35, enrolling in coverage. Signups through Dec. 26 totaled almost 4 million, compared to 1.1 million a year ago.
One potential driver is the Affordable Care Act’s coverage mandate. People who can afford coverage but choose to remain uninsured (and don’t qualify for an exemption from the law) will pay a penalty of at least $695, or $2,085 per family, when they file their 2016 federal taxes in 2017. With the increased rates this year, the penalties can run as high as 2.5 percent of household income.
“For some, having that penalty could be motivating them to come in for coverage,” Seshamani acknowledged.
But there are those who are apparently willing to pay the penalty.
Debra Hammer, a spokeswoman for Intuit Inc., which sells tax preparation software, said 3 percent of its 30 million TurboTax customers paid the penalty by the end of last year’s tax season, with the largest group being young single adults, ages 26 to 35, with no dependents and earning less than $50,000 a year.
“But, this year we’re anticipating that it will go to about 2.5 percent given that the penalty’s going up,” she said.
Last year, 40 percent of the company’s uninsured customers qualified for an exemption from the penalty, Hammer added.
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