Obama Care stuff / question

So I'd avoided looking into all the small particulars of the Obama Health Care stuff as I knew most of it I hated and random parts kept getting written out. Times come though where this year I think it directly affects me I believe beyond just shitty open enrollment plans at work. Was wondering if anyone in plain English could spell out a couple parts.


Full time, ~28-30k year pre taxes. Am I right to understand starting this year I have to pay something like a $1k federal tax if I don't enroll in health insurance? Or is that cost regardless? I had some catastrophic only coverage before as I'm a healthy young guy and the $150/month of last years plan would have been untenable. But I'm worried that I'll just have to figure it out and get it since it's better than paying nearly the same amount out for nothing in tax penalties?


Kinda sad, my co-supervisor at work was running the numbers, figured out he'd be making more money by going on unemployment then collecting welfare than we make now. (Partially due to still having some dependants, whereas I'm getting reamed on taxes as a single young guy.)

Pretty sure the mandate starts in 2014 so you wouldn't have to pay the penalty til April 2015.

Beyond that? Your income bracket will get "assistance" with health care... whatever that turns out to mean. It may well mean Bend Over because you don't have 4 dependents. (Actually, since the choice was denied to you it already means that)

The mandate, as I understand, it applies to employers, not individual persons.

It fines employers who do not provide healthcare for employees above certain limits.

The individual mandate has to do with self-employed persons who do not carry health insurance for themselves and their families.

I'm self employed, young and healthy, so I carry a super high deductible HSA (and only then because the wife insists...went years just paying the hospital cash for whatever I needed and that worked out fine.)

Eff Obamacare a lot. I am going to have to spend a week or a few hundred $ with a lawyer in 2014 trying to figure out the implications for my business.