The Affordable Care Act (ACA) implemented the individual mandate, also known as the “individual shared responsibility provision” that requires that most Americans have a qualifying Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC).

Until 2018, those who did not prove themselves to have health insurance when filing taxes were penalized. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 then eliminated that requirement. This bill effectively eliminated the individual mandate penalty, as of 2019 on a federal level.