The “Affordable” Care Act just got more expensive and unsustainable

Dateline: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Refusing to buy into the “Affordable” Care Act just got even more expensive.

It’s common knowledge that people respond to incentives. Unfortunately, the government of the Land of the Free has used this idea, not to create incentives to invest in the US economy, but to force its citizens to participate in its failing socialized healthcare program.

It was bad enough to learn when all this started that Americans would be required to purchase health insurance, whether they wanted it or not, but things have just gotten worse from there.

We’ve discussed before the many flaws of Obamacare, one of the most egregious being the government’s use of the IRS to enforce its health insurance mandate by administering fines to those who don’t meet their test for maintaining “minimum essential coverage.”

Just a couple years ago, the fine for non-compliance was $95 a year, or 1% of household income, whichever was greater. The fine was then raised in 2015 to $325 per adult or 2% of household income — which averaged out as $661 per uninsured household.

If you’re uninsured and haven’t been charged an amount like that, just wait until April.

And now, things have gotten even worse. Apparently the fines weren’t high enough to herd the uninsured into the to government’s healthcare pasture, so the IRS will now be charging $695 per uninsured adult or 2.5% of household income. The average fine per household is projected to be $969, a 47% increase from the average in 2015.

And — as many of our readers do — if you earn too much to qualify for the financial aid offered to buy Obamacare plans, you will get an even fatter fine of $1,450 per uninsured household. And that’s just the average.

Plus, if you do qualify for the financial aid, don’t count on it.

Why is the “Affordable” Care Act so unaffordable?

Why the high fines? For starters, the government needs more and more of your money to fund its unsustainable system. In November, the largest insurer in the country, UnitedHealth Group, announced that it might pull out of the ACA system because it is . . . gasp . . . losing money selling ACA plans.

In fact, twelve of the 23 health insurance companies set up by the government with federal loans have shut down due to massive losses, and many other participating insurers — like UnitedHealth — have lost an estimated $4 billion, and are expected to lose more, selling Obamacare insurance plans.

Since the participation of these insurers is crucial to the Affordable Care Act’s future, the Obama administration is looking for a way to bail out these companies with taxpayer money. However, the insurance companies suffered these substantial losses despite already receiving over $26 billion in taxpayer subsidies.

Throwing more money at a sinking ship will do nothing to save it.

The original problem with health insurance in the US was that it was not part of a true free market. Letting the government in on the mess has done nothing but make things worse.

Secondly, the reason the government is applying larger and larger fines for non-compliance with Obamacare is because these fines are the best tool the government has to prod the sheeple into its flock so they will sign up for coverage.

Is there a way around Obamacare?

Are the only options available really just government-provided insurance, increasingly high fines, or a private policy priced to reflect the world’s highest healthcare costs in the world?

If you’re willing to plant your flags offshore, the answer is no. You have options.

A few years ago, we explained the different ways that expats living overseas can avoid signing up for Obamacare. In a nutshell, if you live outside of the United State at least 330 days of the year and qualify for the Federal Earned Income Exclusion OR you have a “bona fide residence” in another country and don’t have plans to permanently return to the US, then you can escape the madness that is the “Affordable” Care Act.

And, while you’re at it, you should consider moving part of your money to safe offshore jurisdictions to protect it from the government’s never-ending desire to use it for its inefficient socialist programs.

If your urge to avoid the high fees and other madness associated with Obamacare isn’t enough to convince you to go offshore, perhaps the higher quality of healthcare — combined with lower prices — will.

You can go here to learn how to use medical tourism to avoid Obamacare and save up to seventy-five percent on health costs or check this list to see the five best countries for medical tourism.

Who knows, even if Obamacare self-destructs before you have a chance to decide where to go, you might just find there are better options for your health and your wallet by going offshore.