A friend told me that if I received any help at all with ACA and have bills they can put liens on my house and take everything I own. considering insurance is mandatory now. How can that be true?


Answer

The only way for the IRS to collect the fee for not having health insurance, if you choose not to pay it, is for them to withhold the money from the Federal Income Tax Refund you would get back from the IRS after filing your income tax return. The IRS cannot enforce the Individual Shared Responsibility provision with jail time, liens, or any other typical methods of collection.

You are encouraged to get assistance through the Health Insurance Marketplace based on your income. Just make sure to report income changes and life changes throughout the year, if your income does change you could end up getting more cost assistance or owing money back on your taxes.

If you don't get covered, and make enough money, you will owe a fee if you don't get coverage. May as well take advantage of the assistance you are entitled to.

Update April 15, 2015: We realize you are probably talking about the old Medicaid estate recovery law (misinformation about it was used to drum up hate against the ACA at some point in 2014).

While ObamaCare won't put a lien on your house long-term care for Medicaid can. (Medicaid is where Medicare patients who need extended long-term care get their coverage). They wouldn't take "everything" but could in some instances try to recoup the cost of the long-term care. Learn more about the facts and myths of Medicaid estate recovery here. It's not a scary thing for the most part and doesn't affect those who get Medicaid coverage due to Medicaid expansion under the ACA (unless they end up institutionalized and needing lots of expensive long term care.)

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Tanner on


Answer Rating:

Obama and facts do not mix; so that is the first truth.

Here is a fact we are now and have been living since ObummerCare came into being.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-25/obama-promised-healthcare-premiums-would-fall-2500-family-they-have-climbed-4865
“Let your friend know when they are done listening to whatever wacky media channel they are listening” – great start

ObamaCareFacts.com on

This page is about liens on houses, which ObamaCare doesn’t do (but Medicaid can do for end of life care beyond a certain dollar amount). The article you posted makes a good point: the rising cost of premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance is a problem. That being said it is being compared to the claim that health insurance costs for the average family would drop by $2,500. That claim is taking into account the costs for people after cost assistance is taken into account. So while employer plans go up a few points (as they had been before the ACA) a person with cost assistance on the Marketplace pays far less than they would otherwise. When we put all those people together and take an average we can technically say costs go down on average.

Joe on

Im on ssi now for disability and medicald bcoz i hadnt paid into ss enough. The county put me on health care ,ive used a few times.,emergency room,and bloodtest etc. Now my friend just told me when i die the govt will put lien on my place to recoup cost

ObamaCareFacts.com on

This is only true in extreme circumstances. Firstly most states simply refuse to do this, aside it being their right, and they eat the bill. Secondly, this only typically triggers for long-term care.

This is generally explained above and detailed in the link below. In short, there is essentially nothing to worry about in practice, but many find this law frustrating none-the-less.

https://obamacarefacts.com/medicaid-estate-recovery-facts-and-myths/

KEITH VERDGO on

DO YOU HAVE A PROGRAM FOR SAVE MY HOME THATS INFOR CLOSE. IAM OVER 50 AND CAN NO LONGER WORK DO TO ILLNESS MY HOUSE BELONGED TO MY GRANDPARENTS I BEEN TRYING HRD TO KEEPIT IS THERE HELP.

Anthony Young on

This is a complete lie. They put a lien on my house. Get real.

ObamaCareFacts.com on

I don’t think we say that it isn’t real, we only say it is not ObamaCare that did this: https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/eligibility/estate-recovery/index.html

https://obamacarefacts.com/medicaid-estate-recovery-facts-and-myths/