Read more about this in Business Week.... http://www.businessweek.com/ap/finan.../D8TSLG1O0.htm
No health care? Higher fines in Mass.
By STEVE LeBLANC
BOSTON
The cost of not having health insurance in Massachusetts is going up.
When the new year begins Tuesday, most residents who remain uninsured will face monthly fines that could total as much as $912 for individuals and $1,824 for couples by the end of 2008, according to penalty guidelines unveiled by the Department of Revenue on Monday.
Individuals who failed to sign up for health insurance by the end of 2007 faced only a one-time loss of their $219 personal income tax exemption.
.... The law, intended to create near-universal coverage in the state, was approved by lawmakers and signed by former Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006. It remains unclear how many Massachusetts residents still don't have insurance, but the number could be in the hundreds of thousands.
.... They (fines) accrue each month an individual remains uninsured and will be due as part of tax returns filed early in 2009.
The penalties apply only to adults deemed able to afford health insurance by the Health Insurance Connector Authority, which oversees the health care law. People can apply for hardship appeals...."



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