Health Coverage: 2008 to get expensive for the uninsured in Mass.

Government of Massachusetts has probably made a New Year resolution to get maximum residents insured for health as it announced monthly fines for those who remain out of the health coverage.

With the beginning of a fresh year, the Department of Revenue unveiled fresh penalty guidelines according to which, people who fail to sign up for health insurance will have to face monthly fines that could amount to $912 for individuals and $1,824 for couples by the end of 2008.

The amplification of penalty is rather steep, as residents who remained uninsured in 2007 had to loose $219 of their personal income tax exemption.

The fines result from a gradually rising concern that residents must oblige to buy insurance rather than rely on the fact that hospitals are supposed to provide care regardless of whether their patients can pay for the services

The penalties were written into the health care law which was created to achieve near-complete health coverage in the state. The law received an approval from the lawmakers and was signed by former Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006.

The penalties vary with age and income of individuals and are based on half the lowest cost plans available through the Health Care Connector. The amount builds up each month so long as a person remains uninsured and will be due as part of tax returns filed early next year.

According to Revenue Commissioner Henry Dormitzer, the department has worked to come up with a plan that allows the penalties to be fair and easy to comprehend.

The number of uninsured residents in Massachusetts before the law took effect could be from 370,000 to more than half a million, said Leslie Kirwan, Gov. Deval Patrick's top budget chief and chairwoman of the Connector board.