COVERED CALIFORNIA
Required California State Health Insurance
Special Enrollment
Consumers who experience a qualifying life event can enroll in a Covered California health insurance plan even outside of the open-enrollment period. This is called special enrollment. Click below for a list of common qualifying life events for special enrollment that apply year-round.
Tax Penalty
The Tax Penalty for Remaining Uninsured
It’s never smart to avoid having health insurance — one accident can lead to an emergency room visit and tens of thousands of dollars in bills, or learning you have cancer when it’s too late to treat it. Now there’s another reason to get insured — taxes.
The “shared responsibility payment” is a new tax penalty that Americans have to pay this year if they can afford health insurance but choose not to buy it. It’s called a shared responsibility payment because everyone in the United States is now required to be part of our health insurance system — buying health coverage for themselves and their families rather than relying on others to pay for their care. Those who don't buy health insurance in 2016 may be subject to the penalty, which is $695 per person in a household or 2.5 percent of their income, whichever is greater.
