A quarter of uninsured ready to face ObamaCare fine

More than a quarter of people without health insurance say they are willing to pay a fine rather than enroll in ObamaCare.

While a majority of uninsured people surveyed by Gallup — 63 percent — say they intend to enroll in the health exchange, 28 percent said they would not enroll and would instead pay a fine.

{mosads}More Republicans say they will pay the fine rather than enroll in health insurance than Democrats. 

“The biggest differences appear by party identification — 45 percent of uninsured Republicans plan to pay the fine, compared with 31 percent of independents and 15 percent of Democrats,” Gallup said. 

People who don’t sign up for insurance by the end of March will have to pay a fine. The fine in 2014 is 1 percent of the person’s income or $95, whichever is higher. The maximum penalty for a family is $285.

Another poll on Wednesday indicates a majority of young people disapprove of the healthcare law. Less than a third of 18- to 29-year-olds say they’re likely to sign up for ObamaCare, according to a survey done by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics. 

That’s troubling news for the administration, which is depending on young, healthy uninsured people to sign up.

About 17 percent of adults are without health insurance, Gallup estimates. If the 28 percent who say they won’t enroll in ObamaCare follow through on those intentions, a minimum of 5 percent would remain uninsured, the tracking organization said. Such a situation means the U.S. would not meet its goal of providing universal healthcare coverage.