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Bill

A 2681

Requires residents to maintain minimum essential coverage health insurance in the state of New York or pay a tax for failing to do so

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Alex Bores

New York would mandate that residents maintain minimum essential health coverage or pay a tax penalty for noncompliance, affecting individuals statewide.

REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · A 2681

Summary of New York Assembly Bill A 2681

Overview

  • Bill number: A 2681
  • Title: Requires residents to maintain minimum essential coverage health insurance in the state of New York or pay a tax for failing to do so
  • Status: Referred to Ways and Means
  • Introduced: January 22, 2025
  • Primary sponsor: Alex Bores

Note: The available information does not include the bill’s text, so specifics on penalties, exemptions, or implementation details are not provided here. The summary reflects the information publicly stated: a mandate for residents to maintain minimum essential coverage (MEC) or face a tax, with the bill currently in the Ways and Means committee.

Purpose and Intent

  • Objective: Establish an individual health insurance mandate in New York requiring residents to maintain MEC or incur a tax penalty for non-compliance.
  • Policy rationale (inferred): Aims to increase health insurance coverage rates, reduce uncompensated care, and align state policy with broader goals of expanding access to medical care. Details such as the MEC definition, enforcement mechanisms, and penalty design would be specified in the bill’s text.

Key Provisions (as currently available)

  • Requirement: Residents of New York would be required to maintain MEC health insurance coverage.
  • Penalty/Tax: Households or individuals lacking MEC would owe a tax, as specified by the bill.
  • MEC Definition: The bill would define what constitutes “minimum essential coverage,” but the exact definition is not provided in the available summary.
  • Exemptions and carve-outs: The summary does not provide information on any exemptions (e.g., hardship, affordability, religious exemptions, or short gaps in coverage). These would be detailed in the full text.
  • Enforcement: The mechanism for enforcing the mandate and collecting the tax is not described in the summary.

Affected Parties

  • Primary: Residents of the State of New York who would be subject to the MEC requirement.
  • Administrative/Enforcement: State agencies responsible for health insurance regulation and tax collection would likely implement and administer the provision once enacted (specific agencies not listed in the available information).

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Status: Referred to the Ways and Means committee, indicating the bill is at an early stage of the legislative process and will undergo committee review, potential amendments, and further votes.
  • Next steps: If advanced by Ways and Means, the bill would proceed to floor consideration in the Assembly, potential amendments, and votes, followed by the Senate counterpart (if applicable) and final enactment steps.

Fiscal and Administrative Implications (Preliminary)

  • The fiscal impact is not specified in the available information. Typically, an individual mandate and tax penalty would have implications for state revenues and administrative costs related to enforcement, tax collection, and program administration. Exact figures, offsetting savings, or budget language would appear in the bill’s fiscal note and text.

Sponsor

  • Primary sponsor: Assembly Member Alex Bores

If you’d like, I can incorporate any available text from the bill (once released) to provide a more detailed provisions-by-provisions summary, including definitions, exemptions, penalties, and effective dates.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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