People who don't have health insurance yet for next year need to hurry up and get it or risk a fine, the federal government warns. And the fine's going up this year.
Although the Health and Human Services Department offered a special extension last year to sign up, because many people may not yet have fully understood the requirements, there will be no such break this coming year, NBC News reported.
The 2010 Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, requires virtually everyone to have health insurance. It also requires insurance companies to cover more people than they used to, and it provides federally subsidized insurance on the health insurance exchanges offered in each state.
As an extra incentive, people who don't sign up will have to pay a tax, or fee.
Last year, the tax was $325 per person or 2 percent of annual household income - whichever is higher.
"For 2016, the fee you'll have to pay if you choose to go without health insurance will increase to $695 or 2.5 percent of your income - whichever is higher," said Kevin Counihan, the CEO of Healthcare.gov.
