By changing many of the rules traditionally applicable to health insurance and imposing healthcare-related requirements on virtually every individual, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is likely to affect virtually every person in the United States in some way.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) imposes various tax increases in order to generate revenue and uses a carrot and stick approach to ensure individuals comply with its provisions by offering tax credits for compliance and, until 2019, by imposing tax penalties for non-compliance. This course will review the principal provisions of the law affecting individuals and will consider the:

• coverage-related provisions of the PPACA addressing:
  o plan grandfathering pursuant to which health coverage in force at the time of the law's passage may be continued
  o the prohibition of pre-existing condition exclusions
  o the proscription of lifetime and annual benefit limits
  o the limitation of health coverage rescissions
  o the requirement for certain patient protections
  o the requirement that plans covering children extend child coverage until age 26
• various personal income tax changes affecting taxpayers
• tax credits authorized under the law to assist taxpayers by helping them purchase and maintain health insurance coverage

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

• pinpoint the principal health care provisions of the PPACA affecting individuals
• identify those individuals who may be exempt from the individual mandate
• calculate the tax credits and tax penalties designed to help ensure that individuals meet the requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage

Tax Year: 2023