Mass. to increase penalties for taxpayers who fail to obtain health insurance

By The Associated Press

December 09, 2009, 5:15PM

BOSTON – Just over one percent of Massachusetts tax filers reported having no insurance in 2008 despite begin able to afford a health plan.

The Department of Revenue reported about 53,000 tax filers faced a financial penalty. Of those, 45,000 were fined, down from 60,000 in 2007. The remainder appealed.

The $13 million in penalties collected from 2008 have been deposited in a health care trust fund.

Those penalties are set to increase in 2010 to $93 a month or $1,116 for an entire year without health care for those 27 or older. That’s up from the 2009 penalty of $89 a month or $1,068 annually.

The penalty is lower for younger adults.

The penalties are part of the landmark 2006 health care law that requires everyone who can afford health care be insured.