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(From the
Massachusetts Health Connector Authority website)
"Even if the Affordability Schedule says that you can afford health insurance, you may believe that you
cannot because you have experienced a hardship. If you experienced a hardship during 2007 you
may qualify for a waiver of the penalty. The Health Connector Authority oversees the
appeals and exemptions process for seeking a waiver of the penalty.
WHAT QUALIFIES AS A HARDSHIP?
A hardship means that, during 2008, you:
- Were homeless, or were more than 30 days overdue in rent or mortgage
payments, or received an eviction or foreclosure notice.
- Received a shut-off notice, or were shut off, or were refused the delivery of essential utilities
(gas, electric, oil, water, or telephone.)
- Had non-cosmetic medical and/or dental out-of-pocket expenses (not including premium
payments), totaling more that 7.5% of your household's adjusted gross income that were not
subject to payment by a third-party.
- Incurred a significant, unexpected increase in basic living expenses resulting directly from the
consequences of:
- Domestic violence
- The death of a spouse, family member, or partner with primary responsibility for child
care.
- The sudden responsibility for providing full care for an aging parent or other family
member, including a major, extended illness of a child that requires a working parent to
hire a full-time caretaker for the child.
- A fire, flood, natural disaster, or other unexpected natural or human-caused event
causing substantial household or personal damage.
- Can establish that the expense of purchasing health insurance would have caused you to
experience a serious deprivation of food, shelter, clothing or other necessities.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT QUALIFIES AS A HARDSHIP?
In addition to the criteria listed above, the Connector Authority will also consider whether your family
size was so large that reliance on the Affordability Schedule would result in a
significant inequity.
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We're not
kidding here - this is the law.