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What happens to employees who don’t have health insurance?

As of July 1, 2007:

* With few exceptions, Massachusetts residents age 18 and older must carry health insurance that meets the minimum standards set by the Health Connector. This is known as the “Individual Mandate.”
* Adults who cannot afford a plan that meets Health Connector standards can apply to the Health Connector for a waiver.
* Those who do not get insurance or a waiver by December 31, 2007 will lose their state personal income tax exemption when filing their 2007 state personal income taxes.
* If their religion does not allow them to carry health insurance, they can file a statement with their state tax return.
* In 2008, the penalties on adults who do not carry health insurance will grow significantly. Uninsured adults will be fined 1/2 of the monthly premium cost of the most affordable health plan available to them, as certified by the Health Connector.

By the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, through the process of collecting state income taxes.

How is the Individual Mandate enforced? By the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, through the process of collecting state income taxes.

It is worse than that. The state has gone so far as to hire a law firm to sue individual citizens to collect "fines" for failing to purchase health insurance. And paying the fine does not absolve a person of the purchase requirement for the year for which they are being fined. So if financial problems are the reason you failed to buy, you now find yourself in further financial distress.

So when Mitt casually dismisses Romneycare with "it was right for Massachusetts" or some blather I become incensed. The rates are rising dramatically because the "poor" are getting the state to pay for their coverage, which raises our costs. It was just revealed this week that Massachusetts spent $93,000,000 on health care for illegals, too.

The fact that Mitt Romney could not or would not see the disastrous consquences and pitfalls of Romneycare is one of the main reasons conservatives rightly distrust him.