Now that the USSC has ruled that Obamacare is legal, what will it do to US expats ?

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Trainman33

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Dec 11, 2009
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Now that the US Supreme Court has ruled that Obamacare is legal, what will be the effect on US expats?

Will US citizens living outside the US be exempt? Will it be much like Medicare or VA care, which is only offered within the US so that anyone outside the US would need to travel for care? Will expats be forced to pay for a plan in the US, even if care under the plan is unavailable outside the US, or else pay a fine for not enrolling in a US health plan?

Under this law, these are the penalties involved for not enrolling in a plan:
2014: Families??$285 or 1 percent of total household income, whichever is greater. Individual adults??$95.
2015: Families??$975 or 2 percent of income, whichever is greater. Individual adults??$325.
2016: Families??$2,085 or 2.5 percent of income, whichever is greater. Individual adults??$695.

There are somewhere between 5 and 10 million US citizens living outside of the US. We tend to be forgotten (or worse) when government is making policies.

Can someone more knowledgeable shed some light on this for me?

Credit this post to "gringocarlos" on expatforum.com
 
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Zulu

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May 27, 2012
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It's not like if one falls ill they would travel back to the U.S to get treated, and besides i doubt it is mandatory due to the fact one spends most of their days out of the U.S. What about those who decided to leave after this bill has been passed, does the insurance coverage work outside the U.S; or does one get refunded upon providing receipt if treated in a foreign land?
 
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windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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Zulu said:
It's not like if one falls ill they would travel back to the U.S to get treated, and besides i doubt it is mandatory due to the fact one spends most of their days out of the U.S. What about those who decided to leave after this bill has been passed, does the insurance coverage work outside the U.S; or does one get refunded upon providing receipt if treated in a foreign land?
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Yes it is a requirement to stay out of the US for 330 days each year as one way to be exempt. Either that or you will pay a fine or pay for insurance. You have not been reading the regulations of this plan.

It would depend upon what kind of plan you purchased as to whether it covers you out of the US.

If one was not in danger of immediate death, but developed a condition requiring a major operation, chemotherapy, etc. there is nothing that would prevent a US citizen from entering the US and purchasing insurance and being treated because under the new regulations existing conditions cannot be excluded.

That is almost the same thing that I expect most people who are not currently insured and who live in the US will do, except that they will have to pay a fine for each year they don't have insurance.
 
bob saunders

bob saunders

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Derfish said:
One is required to pay this fine when one files with the Eternal Revenue service each year. There are millions of us who forgt all about the Infernal Revenue Service each and every year. If one doesn't do the paper work confessing that they do not have insurance I doubt if Uncle Sambo will even know it!
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Obamatax - YouTube
Guess you'll find out when the time comes. Uncle Sam is deperate for money.
 
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Bob K

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Aug 16, 2004
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Ok what about someone living outside of tht US who may spend more then 35 days (like 2 month) back in the US but has an international insurance that covers care in the US. Does he need to purchase US insurance as well???????????

Bob K
 
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windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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Bob K said:
Ok what about someone living outside of tht US who may spend more then 35 days (like 2 month) back in the US but has an international insurance that covers care in the US. Does he need to purchase US insurance as well???????????

Bob K
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You will have to check and see if your plan that covers you in the US is an approved plan by the government. Since the IRS is the one enforcing this new tax, you could start by contacting them to find out.
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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This is what my Representative says about this:

"The United States Supreme Court has ruled to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by extending the power of the United States Congress to tax Americans' behavior. This is a sad day for Americans, as they will be taxed to pay for benefits they may not need or want as part of the insurance they are forced to buy. With this decision, Congress has been granted infinite taxation power, and there are no longer any limits on what the federal government can tax its citizens to do.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will hit the middle class especially hard, as hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost as businesses try to avoid the penalties and costs created by the healthcare law. The healthcare law will cost trillions of dollars, raise costs for employers and create huge incentives for them to drop health insurance.

Benjamin Franklin did indeed state, 'In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.' However, Dr. Franklin never envisioned the federal government would use its power of taxation to punish people for not purchasing health care. Today, individual sovereignty in America has been defeated."

Allen West
FL 22
 
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windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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Derfish said:
One is required to pay this fine when one files with the Eternal Revenue service each year. There are millions of us who forgt all about the Infernal Revenue Service each and every year. If one doesn't do the paper work confessing that they do not have insurance I doubt if Uncle Sambo will even know it!
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It does seem that you are correct although not filing can lead to other series problems

In addition I read that if you don't have a refund coming or receive federal benefits the IRS has no way of assessing the penalty tax on you if you do not have a qualified insurance plan. Don't take this as gospel, but I have read this in several places.
 
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Tarheel

Well-known member
Dec 19, 2005
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Hillbilly said:
This is what my Representative says about this:

"The United States Supreme Court has ruled to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by extending the power of the United States Congress to tax Americans' behavior. This is a sad day for Americans, as they will be taxed to pay for benefits they may not need or want as part of the insurance they are forced to buy. With this decision, Congress has been granted infinite taxation power, and there are no longer any limits on what the federal government can tax its citizens to do.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will hit the middle class especially hard, as hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost as businesses try to avoid the penalties and costs created by the healthcare law. The healthcare law will cost trillions of dollars, raise costs for employers and create huge incentives for them to drop health insurance.

Benjamin Franklin did indeed state, 'In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.' However, Dr. Franklin never envisioned the federal government would use its power of taxation to punish people for not purchasing health care. Today, individual sovereignty in America has been defeated."

Allen West
FL 22
Click to expand...

Allen West is an idiot!
 
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