IRS Issues Final Rule On ACA’s Individual Shared Responsibility Provision

The Internal Revenue Service has released its final rule governing the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) shared responsibility provision requiring most individuals to obtain minimal essential health coverage or pay a penalty, commonly referred to as the individual mandate. Although the employer mandate has been delayed until 2015, the effective date of the individual mandate remains January 1, 2014.

According to a fact sheet on this rule, minimal essential coverage includes, at a minimum:

• Employer-sponsored coverage (including COBRA coverage and retiree coverage)
• Coverage purchased in the individual market
• Medicare Part A coverage
• Medicaid coverage
• Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage