Posted on November 12, 2013

O'Donnell: Obamacare's "Dirty Little Secret" Is The Individual Mandate Is Unenforceable

MSNBC: In the Rewrite, Lawrence O’Donnell talks about the importance of the New York Times revealing the “dirty little secret” of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.



New York Times: But there is also the dirty little secret of the penalty: It is a bit of a chimera, because the federal government cannot use its usual tools like fines, liens or criminal prosecutions to punish people who do not pay it. The penalty is supposed to be reported and paid with the income tax returns of those who do not buy insurance, but the government has not said how it will collect from those who owe it but do not pay it, though the law allows it to deduct from any income tax refunds.