Who is 'Lawfully Present' Under the ACA? - Gary Endelman & Cyrus Mehta

"Many non-citizens will be subject to additional payment to the Internal Revenue Service if they do not maintain “minimum essential healthcare coverage” under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act – ACA).  This is known as the “individual mandate” or the “individual shared responsibility provision.”  By the same token, eligible non-citizens can also access health plans on the health exchanges or Marketplace.  The last day to enroll is February 15, 2015 for the current year.  Our first blog discussed the impact of the ACA on lawful permanent residents or green card holders who reside outside the United States.  This blog focuses on non-citizens who are lawfully present in the United States.  Section 1411(a) (1) of the ACA renders non-citizens lawfully present in the United States subject to the individual mandate.  The ACA is linked to immigration issues, just as it is joined at the hip with tax law, and it behooves the careful practitioner to consider the commonality   of all these issues and how each of them can inform our understanding of the others when advising non-citizen clients." - Gary Endelman & Cyrus Mehta, Feb. 8, 2015.