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A Description Of An Individual's Shared Responsibility Requirement In The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act Of 2010, James S. Cole

James S Cole

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 …