Few Mass. Residents Penalized for Not Obtaining Insurance
In 2009, fewer than 1% of all Massachusetts residents paid a penalty for failing to obtain health coverage under the individual mandate in the state's 2006 health care law. There also was little opposition to the mandate, largely because most residents already had health coverage before the law took effect. Meanwhile at the national level, about 94% of all U.S. residents would be exempt from penalties when the federal individual mandate takes effect in 2014, according to an Urban Institute study.
- "In Mass., the Only State With an Individual Mandate, Few Are Forced To Pay Insurance Penalty" (AP/Washington Post, 6/6).