Obamacare Fines, $13K+ Deductible Alleged In Facebook Post

A viral Facebook post detailing the true horror of Obamacare fines has gripped parts of the social network, as user Will Sheehan alleges a frightening experience with the newly created ACA exchanges.

Fear of Obamacare fines and deductible hikes have been ambient, and new low exchange rates have in ways worsened fears of Obamacare’s hidden fees.

Enter Will Sheehan, and his tale of an aborted Obamacare signup — followed by a scary email from the government detailing high fines when the deductible sticker shock proved too much.

According to the Facebook user “Will Sheehan,” who has not come forward personally, Obamacare fines were part of the email he received the same day he “opted out” of unaffordable health insurance coverage quoted to him on his state’s exchange site.

The post, which has since gone viral, begins:

“I actually made it through this morning at 8:00 A.M. I have a preexisting condition (Type 1 Diabetes) and my income base was 45K-55K annually I chose tier 2 ‘Silver Plan’ and my monthly premiums came out to $597.00 with $13,988 yearly deductible!!! There is NO POSSIBLE way that I can afford this so I ‘opt-out’ and chose to continue along with no insurance.”

A $14,000 deductible is just the beginning of Will Sheehan’s Obamacare costs, though — he continues:

“I received an email tonight at 5:00 P.M. informing me that my fine would be $4,037 and could be attached to my yearly income tax return. Then you make it to the ‘REPERCUSSIONS PORTION’ for ‘non-payment’ of yearly fine. First, your drivers license will be suspended until paid, and if you go 24 consecutive months with ‘Non-Payment’ and you happen to be a home owner, you will have a federal tax lien placed on your home.”

Sheehan concludes:

“You can agree to give your bank information so that they can easy ‘Automatically withdraw’ your ‘penalties’ weekly, bi-weekly or monthly! This by no means is ‘Free’ or even ‘Affordable.’ ”

Luckily, PolitiFact looked into this Obamacare Facebook meme and determined the facts of the matter — and it seems you can rest easy on the matter of Obamacare fines and high deductibles.

The site determined that the story from “Will Sheehan” about Obamacare horrors doesn’t check out on several levels — most notably that to incur a “fine” for Obamacare refusal at the levels claimed in the missive, one would need to earn nearly a half million dollars a year, not $45,000 to $55,000.

Further, Obamacare “fines” are not even going to be assessed until 2015, and only at $95 or one percent of a person’s income.

You can read the full breakdown of the “Will Sheehan Obamacare” hoax over at PolitiFact.