Was talking to a lady of around 60 a while back. She got laid off last spring. I asked her what she was doing about health insurance. She said she didn’t have any because Cobra was too expensive. She was totally clueless about ACA and its ramifications. Told her to look into it and left it at that. Didn’t want to pry too much..
The penalty is paid out of your tax refund. I never get a refund.