Center for American Progress:
Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will give millions of middle-class families large tax credits to make health insurance more affordable. In size and scope these tax credits far outstrip the shared responsibility payments [i.e., the Heritage Foundation-invented mandate] paid by the tiny percentage of Americans who will voluntarily turn down affordable health insurance.
Only 1.2 percent of Americans will pay this penalty, and they are people who do not already have insurance and choose not to purchase coverage, even though they can afford the cost. Other taxpayers will have to continue to subsidize care for these people if they get sick, but the share responsibility penalty will help offset some of this expense. The bottom line is that the Affordable Care Act is a major tax cut for the middle-class.
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