Immigrants, Health Coverage and Penalties

Health Insurance

• Did you have health insurance last year? If not, you can apply for Medicaid or Dr. Dynasaur to see if you are eligible.
• Vermont Health Connect is also an option. The open enrollment period for buying (or changing) a 2019 Vermont Health Connect plan was November 1 - December 15, 2018. You can’t apply now for a 2019 Qualified Health Plan through Vermont Health Connect unless you have a “qualifying event” like losing insurance from your job, getting pregnant or having a baby.
• You can apply for Medicaid or Dr. Dynasaur any time, even if you don’t have a qualifying event.
• Find information about who is eligible for health insurance in the U.S.

Penalties

• Were you able to buy insurance through Vermont Health Connect in 2018? If you were, but you decided not to buy health insurance, you may have to pay a tax penalty, or apply for an exemption. If you did not have health insurance in 2018, you should apply for an exemption in order to avoid the tax penalty.
• If you do not have insurance between January - December 2019, there is no tax penalty.
• For more information about the penalty and exemptions see our Health Insurance, Taxes and You page. Also, find information about other exemptions for immigrants.

Health Insurance

• You cannot get health insurance through Vermont Health Connect. You are not required to have health insurance.

Penalties

• You do not owe a tax penalty for not having health insurance, even if you have a Social Security number. (Find information about other exemptions for immigrants.)

• Immigrants, Taxes and the Affordable Care Act — This article explains generally how the Affordable Care Act applies to immigrants. Find more information about health care issues for immigrants.
• Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers — This web page has general information on ITINs. An ITIN is a tax processing number issued by the IRS to people who are not eligible for a Social Security Number.