Republican Party

George Pataki’s History Lesson

By Adam Sorensen | @adamsorensen | April 22, 2010 | +

The Red Coats are coming to levy a fine* if you don’t buy health insurance.

As forays into establishing a national TV presence go, this is, um, a revolution in camp.

(h/t Dave Weigel)

*Said fine is:

Require U.S. citizens and legal residents to have qualifying health coverage.  Those without coverage pay a tax penalty of the greater of $695 per year up to a maximum of three times that amount ($2,085) per family or 2.5% of household income.  The penalty will be phased-in according to the following schedule:  $95 in 2014, $325 in 2015, and $695 in 2016 for the flat fee or 1.0% of taxable income in 2014, 2.0% of taxable income in 2015, and 2.5% of taxable income in 2016.  Beginning after 2016, the penalty will be increased annually by the cost-of-living adjustment. Exemptions will be granted for financial hardship, religious objections, American Indians, those without coverage for less than three months, undocumented immigrants, incarcerated individuals, those for whom the lowest cost plan option exceeds 8% of an individual’s income, and those with incomes below the tax filing threshold (in 2009 the threshold for taxpayers under age 65 was $9,350 for singles and $18,700 for couples).

Related Topics: Health Care, Republican Party

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  • kathy

    Lawrence O’Donnell on Olberman one night read from the bill and explained that there is no enforcement provision for collecting the fine. It’s a voluntary fine with no enforcement provisions. For this reason alone, all the lawsuits will fail, and presumably all those AGs know it.

  • deconstructiva

    I hope this does NOT bring up prison, Bill-O, and frothing-at-the-mouth RW commenters again. Poor Kate has my condolences if so.

  • queencersei

    Someone really needs to explain to these ‘historians’ that America is the nation it is today because the colonies banded together. It is when the states divide themselves into regions, into us versus them, real America versus fake America that we run into trouble. It won’t be some foreign ‘other’ that brings America down. It will be Americans tearing each other apart.

  • Ivy_B

    Let’s just send George the Reuters Wellpoint story.

  • slowp

    Excellent! Now all you folks in the rest of the country get a chance to learn what a feckless halfwit Pataki is.

  • kbanginmotown

    And now….this!

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