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Health Care Reform FEHB Fast Facts

How Does the Affordable Care Act’s Individual Shared Responsibility Provision and the Requirement to Maintain Minimum Essential Coverage affect me?

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148 and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, Public Law 111-152 (collectively, the Affordable Care Act), the Federal government, state governments, insurers, employers, and individuals are given shared responsibility to reform and improve the availability, quality, and affordability of health insurance coverage in the United States.

The Affordable Care Act’s individual shared responsibility provision requires each individual (including children) to:

Children and other Federal income tax dependents must have minimum essential coverage or qualify for an exemption for each month in a calendar year. Otherwise, the adult or married couple who can claim a child or other individual as a dependent for Federal income tax purposes will owe a payment. For more information on how the individual shared responsibility provision affects individuals claiming dependents, please visit the IRS Web site.

Last Updated / Reviewed: August 31, 2020