I’ve covered the extent to which ACA and Massachusetts individual mandate penalties differ in size. But there are so many other ways in which ACA and the Massachusetts law may or may not be similar that could have an impact on gaming and selection. Some of these are coming up in the comments.
- Does ACA have an open enrollment period? Does Massachusetts? (Restricting enrollment to certain periods increases the downside risk of waiting until one is sick to obtain insurance.)
- Does Massachusetts have stronger enforcement for failing to pay penalties than ACA seems to have?
- Does an exclusion period for pre-existing conditions exist in Massachusetts? (I think the answer is yes to this one.) I assume one does not exist under ACA, right?
If a credible expert on the Massachusetts individual mandate and penalties wishes to submit a guest post on those topics and how ACA differs for each, the door is open. Or, if readers can point to a summary that serves the same function, let me know. (Yes, I could Google about and figure all this out myself. But maybe someone out there with the expertise would like a little credit for saving me the trouble.)
