What qualifies as Minimum Essential Coverage?

In order to avoid the tax penalty, each person in your family must have "minimum essential coverage”.  A person will be considered to have minimum essential coverage for any month they are legally enrolled in one of the following types of coverage for at least one day:

• An employer group health plan
• An individual health insurance policy
• A government plan such as Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), TRICARE, or veterans coverage
• Student health coverage
• Medicare Advantage plan
• State high risk pool coverage
• Coverage for non-U.S. citizens provided by another country
• Refugee medical assistance provided by the Administration for Children and Families
• Coverage for AmeriCorp volunteers

All the plans listed above will qualify as having minimum essential coverage and thus will allow you to avoid the tax penalty.