It may be effectively neutered at the federal level, but the California legislature just put the individual mandate back on the books when it passed SB 78, legislation that authorizes the taxing of California citizens who do not purchase health insurance and Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law last Friday. The new law essentially reinstates the tax that was originally required under ObamaCare and it was passed in very similar fashion – the democratic majority passed the bill without a single republican vote. California is now the 4th state, joining Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont, along with Washington DC, to penalize those citizens who do not buy health insurance as of January 1, 2020. To rub a little salt into that wound, the revenue generated by the new tax ($695 per adult or 2 ½ % of a household’s gross income, whichever is greater) will be used to provide health insurance at no cost to illegal immigrants up to age 25.
