New Jersey Health Insurance Mandate to be effective in 2019: In response to the repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) federal health insurance mandate that will become effective in 2019, legislation was signed on May 30, 2018 by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy whereby New Jersey will impose a similar mandate effective in taxable years beginning January 1, 2019. The New Jersey law requires all state residents to have health insurance or pay a penalty. The penalty will be calculated based upon the current federal formula, which is 2.5% of income or $695 per adult taxpayer and $347 per child, whichever is greater. A family’s maximum penalty is $2,085. The penalty is designed to increase each year that someone is not covered, but cannot exceed the price of a lower-cost bronze-level plan on New Jersey’s ACA marketplace. The cost of such a plan averaged just under $3,300 in 2017.
New Jersey is the second state to enact a health insurance mandate. In 2006, Massachusetts was the first state to adopt an individual mandate. Other states are currently developing similar legislation.
By Terri L. Marakos, CPA
