If you make too little income, then your ACA subsidy is invalid and you must pay it all back. If you make too much income (by even $1) then you will see your ACA subsidy revoked and you must pay it all back.
I have had clients that signed up for ACA, whether of a desire meet the spirit of the law or a true need for insurance. Trying to guess your forward income when unemployed in January is difficult. Trying to guess it when your company cancels your insurance is just as difficult, especially if you are over 55. And almost no one braves the two hour holds to the call centers just to update their income to adjust their subsidy.
The worst I remember was an older gentleman who was unemployed, got ACA with a subsidy, later got a good job as a foreman and made just enough to go over the max he could earn, and get a subsidy. Wife had no insurance at her job. Was required to pay back almost $15,000.
We can debate whether or not there should even be any subsidies through the federal government for personal healthcare insurance. There should not!
IMO, the implementation of this legislation was downright evil and hurt more folks than it helped. From insanely high deductibles to arbitrary rules that harm daily healthcare, it has been an experiment that has not helped very many of the very folks it was supposed to insure.
The cost of the law cannot be measured only in a few penalties for non-insurance.
As with all socialistic schemes, there are "winners" and "losers", and politicians/media only talk about the "winners" when they are pushing them, or when the people are trying to roll them back.
The "losers" are invisible, by intentional design.
From insanely high deductibles to arbitrary rules that harm daily healthcare, it has been an experiment that has not helped very many of the very folks it was supposed to insure.
There is a saying, "Who wills the means, wills the end." If TPTB actually cared about "insuring" the folks to which you refer, they would be all over repealing and fixing the law. In fact, they are not, and never were, interested in any such thing. Admitting that is the first step in understanding what Bammy"care" is all about.
Did you see this?
In 2014, House Republicans sued the Obama administration over the constitutionality of the cost-sharing reduction payments, which had not been appropriated by Congress. The lawmakers won the lawsuit, and the Obama administration appealed it. Late last year, with a new administration on the other end of the suit, the House sought to pause the proceedings — with a deadline for a status update in late May.
The Trump administration and House lawmakers have to report to the judge this spring. If the Trump administration drops the appeal, it would mean the subsidies would stop being paid — a huge blow to the marketplaces and millions of people. If lawmakers wanted the payments to continue, they would have to find a way to fund them. One opportunity for that is coming up fast, the continuing resolution that must be passed by April 28. If the Trump administration continues the lawsuit, it will be in the odd position of fighting its own party.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3539139/posts