White House moves forward on individual mandate

In the Obama administration's proposed rules for governing the individual mandate, released yesterday, exemptions are so broad that only 2 percent of the population could possibly owe penalties. Penalties are defined as a "shared responsibility payment" for not having coverage under a health plan, according to the Internal Revenue Service and the Health and Human Services Agency.

The broad exemptions include, as laid out by HealthLeaders Media: taxpayers with incomes below the filing threshold, those who can not afford coverage, members of Indian tribes, people who qualify for hardship exemptions, individuals who have short coverage gaps, those who don't want to purchase health insurance for religious reasons, members of "health sharing ministries" and individuals who are incarcerated. Article