Bill Would Help Oklahomans Recoup ObamaCare Penalties
Bill in Oklahoma House would help uninsured fined under Affordable Care Act
By ZIVA BRANSTETTER World Enterprise Editor
With a key deadline for the Affordable Care Act approaching, Oklahoma lawmakers are continuing efforts to shield state residents from what they say are the federal law’s harmful effects.
Legislation offering an estimated $24 million in tax credits to those fined under the law and a separate bill to regulate insurance navigators remain alive in the state House.
Open enrollment for insurance plans under the federal health-care law ends March 31. After that date, people without health insurance are subject to a federal tax penalty unless they fall into an excluded category.
A bill by Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, would allow people to take a state tax credit for 2014 if they are subject to the federal fine. An estimated 73,000 people in Oklahoma would face an average of $329 in fines for failure to have health insurance in 2014, according to a fiscal impact study prepared for the bill.