A Description of an Individual's Shared Responsibility Requirement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010

James S. Cole

Abstract

The individual responsibility requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 has become the focus of litigation and public policy debates. Surprising aspects of the statute emerge when its rather dense verbiage is analyzed. The “individual conscience exception” applies primarily, if not exclusively, to self-employed Amish individuals who renounce Social Security coverage in its entirety. Conscientious objections to other aspects of the statute are not acknowledged. A taxpayer is assessed a penalty for his own failure to obtain minimum necessary health coverage beginning in 2014 and also for dependents’ penalties. The dependents are also liable for their penalties unless they fit within one of the other exemptions specified in the Act. Spouses are jointly liable for each other’s individual responsibility penalty if they file a joint tax return, yet a joint return is required if one of them seeks the benefit of the health premium tax credit. Working through the multiple tiers of calculations that are required to compute the individual responsibility penalty may be more painful than paying it. A factual outline of these and other provisions of the Act will be useful for citizens who seek to assess its wisdom and utility as public policy debates continue.