The Affordable Care Act was passed by congress and then signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. This year (2014) is the first year that the “individual mandate” or penalty goes into effect. If you enroll by March 31, 2014, you won’t have to make the individual shared responsibility payment. There are exemptions to the mandated payment and details are available on the HealthCare.gov website.
In California, the key deadlines and dates for enrolling in subsidized plans under Covered California are as follows:
March 15 – Last day to choose a plan for coverage that begins April 1
March 31– Last day to submit payment for April 1 coverage
March 31 – Final day to choose a plan for coverage that begins May 1 and avoid the individual penalty.
We strongly encourage you to take action as soon as possible. To help you smoothly through the process of evaluating your health plan options and determining whether or not you are eligible for a subsidy please call California Health Plans at 1-866-657-8222