Who's Exempt From ObamaCare

Here's a surprisingly long list of people exempt from the ObamaCare individual mandate.

According to this article in The Atlantic, the list includes:

• You’re uninsured for less than 3 months of the year
• The lowest-priced coverage available to you would cost more than 8% of your household income
• You don’t have to file a tax return because your income is too low (Learn about the filing limit.)
• You’re a member of a federally recognized tribe or eligible for services through an Indian Health Services provider
• You’re a member of a recognized health care sharing ministry
• You’re a member of a recognized religious sect with religious objections to insurance, including Social Security and Medicare
• You’re incarcerated, and not awaiting the disposition of charges against you
• You’re not lawfully present in the U.S.

There are also the following "hardship exemptions":

1. You were homeless.
2. You were evicted in the past 6 months or were facing eviction or foreclosure.
3. You received a shut-off notice from a utility company.
4. You recently experienced domestic violence.
5. You recently experienced the death of a close family member.
6. You experienced a fire, flood, or other natural or human-caused disaster that caused substantial damage to your property.
7. You filed for bankruptcy in the last 6 months.
8. You had medical expenses you couldn’t pay in the last 24 months.
9. You experienced unexpected increases in necessary expenses due to caring for an ill, disabled, or aging family member.
10. You expect to claim a child as a tax dependent who’s been denied coverage in Medicaid and CHIP, and another person is required by court order to give medical support to the child. In this case, you do not have the pay the penalty for the child.
11. As a result of an eligibility appeals decision, you’re eligible for enrollment in a qualified health plan (QHP) through the Marketplace, lower costs on your monthly premiums, or cost-sharing reductions for a time period when you weren’t enrolled in a QHP through the Marketplace.
12. You were determined ineligible for Medicaid because your state didn’t expand eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

And as Dr. Hal Scherz reminds us in his latest OpEd, "Healthcare Reform For Thee, But Not Me", those with political "pull" are also seeking their own waivers and exemptions.