The individual mandate is a penalty in the form of a tax on non-participants. If a citizen opts out of purchasing health insurance for themselves there is a penalty on their incomes tax. It is the only place the federal government can ask each American every year to purchase health insurance. They don't have to, but, in exchange for the understanding uninsured people add to the burden of other Americans by increasing health insurance costs when emergency rooms are substituted for a doctor's office, there is a penalty to be paid for that abuse.
The states do the same thing with their tax forms. Tax forms is an annual event whereby the state, federal government and citizen interface in a way that constitutes exchanges of monies.
In 2014, there will be a new line on the federal tax form. It will ask if a citizen purchased health care insurance. If the answer is yes, proof of that insurance will have to be acknowledged in some way. My guess is if an employee has insurance through their job, the employer will add a box with a check mark to the W-2 form with the period of time covered. If the citizen purchases health insurance independently, the insurance company will probably provide a 1099 or something at the end of the year indicating the cost of the insurance and the period covered.
This is not a tax on everyone, it is a penalty tax on those without health insurance. The debate is silly and superfluous to the issues of our nation.
