[HEALTH.MIL] Health Care Coverage and the ACA: Just Check the Box
- From: HEALTH.MIL@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- To: <HEALTH.MIL@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <TFL@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 19:15:40 -0600
Health Care Coverage and the ACA: Just Check the Box
1/20/2015
You've seen the commercials on TV and heard the serious voice on the radio
telling you how difficult this tax season may be because of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Don't believe the hype; you can meet
the health care coverage reporting requirement as easily as checking a box on
your Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ.
Effective January 1, 2014, the ACA required most Americans, including TRICARE
beneficiaries and DoD employees, have minimum essential health care coverage
(MEC), or pay a tax penalty for each month that you and the other individuals
listed on your tax form did not have coverage during 2014. The good news is if
you, and your dependents, are entitled to TRICARE or purchased TRICARE or
Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) Plan coverage, all you have to do to is
"self-attest" you had coverage on your 2014 tax return.
The IRS has released clarifying information in publication 5187, "
<http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5187.pdf> Health Care Law: What's New for
Individuals & Families." This publication provides information about some of the
tax requirements of the ACA. Other ACA-related publications and tax forms are
available at <http://www.irs.gov/ACA> www.irs.gov/ACA.
Military beneficiaries who are only eligible for space available care in
military clinics or hospitals (examples are parents and parents-in-law or former
members seeking care for line-of-duty conditions) do not have TRICARE coverage
and would normally be subject to the tax penalty if they do not have MEC from a
non-DoD source. However, those beneficiaries who are only eligible for "Space
Available" care have received a special exemption from the tax penalty for tax
year 2014. These beneficiaries should document their status on Form 8695, Health
Coverage Exemptions, and file it with their federal tax returns.
For those who do not have TRICARE or FEHB coverage or lose DoD sponsored
coverage, you're encouraged to explore other healthcare options through the
Market Place at <http://www.healthcare.gov> www.healthcare.gov. Open season
begins November 15 and runs through February 15, 2015.
SOURCE: TRICARE News Release at
http://www.tricare.mil/CoveredServices/BenefitUpdates/Archives/01_20_15_ACA_Repo
rting.aspx
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