If you are lucky enough to work for an employer who pays 100% of the employee rate for the group health insurance they offer (pretty rare these days) then standard group contracts require all eligible employees to be enrolled. So, in that circumstance you might get health insurance coverage whether you want it or not. If you have to contribute towards the cost of the health insurance provided by your employer then you have the right to waive participating in your employer's group health plan.
I will presume, though, that your question is really about the "Individual Mandate" provision of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) and its requirement starting on January 1, 2014 that a person have health insurance coverage that meets the minimum essential benefit requirements under the law or be subject to the "Shared Responsibility Payment" (doesn't that sound better than tax penalty?) on your income taxes.
ObamaCare does give you the choice of either getting health insurance coverage or going without coverage and potentially being subject to a tax penalty. In that sense you can opt out of having health insurance coverage.
But wait there's more! The Affordable Care Act provides for persons in certain situations or who are members of certain groups to be exempt from the individual mandate requirement. Some examples are;
1) If the cost of coverage for you is more than 8% of your annual household income
2) If your annual income is below the threshold where you have to file personal income taxes
3) If you qualify for a "hardship" exemption (this can be an escape route for many people)
4) If you have had a gap in being covered of less than 3 months during the tax year
5) Members of religious groups that object to coverage on religious grounds
6) Members of non-profit religious organizations where members share costs
7) Prison inmates
8) Non U.S. citizens
9) Native American tribe members
10) Year long residents of U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam
What could be more simple? I hope this helps answer your question.
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I will presume, though, that your question is really about the "Individual Mandate" provision of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) and its requirement starting on January 1, 2014 that a person have health insurance coverage that meets the minimum essential benefit requirements under the law or be subject to the "Shared Responsibility Payment" (doesn't that sound better than tax penalty?) on your income taxes.
ObamaCare does give you the choice of either getting health insurance coverage or going without coverage and potentially being subject to a tax penalty. In that sense you can opt out of having health insurance coverage.
But wait there's more! The Affordable Care Act provides for persons in certain situations or who are members of certain groups to be exempt from the individual mandate requirement. Some examples are;
1) If the cost of coverage for you is more than 8% of your annual household income
2) If your annual income is below the threshold where you have to file personal income taxes
3) If you qualify for a "hardship" exemption (this can be an escape route for many people)
4) If you have had a gap in being covered of less than 3 months during the tax year
5) Members of religious groups that object to coverage on religious grounds
6) Members of non-profit religious organizations where members share costs
7) Prison inmates
8) Non U.S. citizens
9) Native American tribe members
10) Year long residents of U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam
What could be more simple? I hope this helps answer your question.