NJ Health Insurance Mandate (2024)

FAQs

Does NJ have a health insurance mandate? ›

Under a new state law, residents of New Jersey must have health insurance beginning January 1, 2019, or pay a penalty. Horizon BCBSNJ offers different plans so that you can get the coverage you need and avoid paying a penalty.

The New Jersey Health Insurance Market Preservation Act requires most state residents to maintain health coverage. You and your tax household must have minimum essential health coverage, qualify for an exemption, or remit a Shared Responsibility Payment when you file your New Jersey Income Tax return.

New Jersey considers you covered during a month if you had coverage for even one day during that month. So if you are without insurance for two consecutive months, you must have insurance by the last day of the third month to qualify for a Short-Gap exemption.

Exemptions are available for reasons such as short gaps in coverage, living abroad, hardships, etc. To see if you qualify for an exemption, complete the NJ Health Insurance Mandate Coverage Exemptions Application and you'll get an exemption number. You'll need an exemption number for each individual who qualifies.

Drivers must meet minimum coverage requirements: Every driver in New Jersey must carry a minimum amount of property damage liability personal injury protection. Drivers must carry no-fault insurance: As a no-fault state, drivers are required to carry New Jersey no-fault car insurance.

Can you go to jail for not having car insurance? Yes. In some states, penalties for driving without insurance include possible jail time. In New Jersey, you face imprisonment for up to 14 days for your second uninsured-driving offense.

New Jersey, California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia require their residents to have health insurance coverage or face penalties. Vermont recommends that residents have coverage, but there's no noncompliance penalty.

As required by law, retired members or their dependents who qualify for state-paid, post-retirement medical benefits and are eligible for Medicare must enroll in both Parts A and B of Medicare.

The best cheap health insurance in New Jersey is the Silver 1 plan from Aetna. This plan offers a good balance between low rates and robust coverage. If you want a Bronze plan, which has less coverage than a Silver plan, AmeriHealth has the cheapest option.

The ACA's federal tax penalty for not having minimum essential coverage was eliminated after the end of 2018, under the terms of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Technically, the coverage requirement is still in effect, but there's no longer a federal penalty for non-compliance.

Can you cancel NJ health insurance anytime? ›

You can cancel your plan at any time, but remember that there are health and financial risks to having coverage gaps and not having coverage.

The individual mandate — which requires most Americans to maintain health coverage — still exists. But starting with the 2019 tax year, there is no longer a federal penalty for non-compliance with the individual mandate.

Under the New Jersey Health Insurance Market Preservation Act, New Jersey residents must have health insurance beginning January 1, 2019. People who don't have “minimum essential coverage” (MEC) may have to pay a penalty. This law is similar to the ACA individual mandate.

If you don't have health insurance, you're at much greater risk of accumulating medical bills that you may not be able to pay. In a worst-case scenario, you could be sued and have your wages garnished. You might even be forced into bankruptcy.

Protection & quality care when bad things happen

Nobody plans to get sick or hurt, but bad things happen — even to healthy people. A broken leg can cost $7,500 to treat. Three days in the hospital can cost $30,000. That's a lot of money to come up with out of your own pocket.

This is due to legislation that was enacted in late 2017; it eliminated the penalty as of 2019, but did not eliminate the actual individual mandate itself. So technically, the law does still require most Americans to maintain health insurance coverage.

Thus the Court found the mandate well within Congress's power to tax. While Congress doesn't have the power to require individuals to purchase health insurance, it does have the power to tax those individuals who do not. Medicaid expansion.