Thanks for that post, it made me laugh as hard as any post in a long time. Stick around, you'll understand why. Starting an argument gives the mods something to do; it’s kind of like a sport. There seems to be some confusion about how much the fine is for not having healthcare insurance. I have heard as low as $700 and as high as $5,000. Both numbers are good in my book and can pose a significant savings for most of us. Let's say I am paying $550 a month now for insurance but I don't use it. That is a cost of $6,600 a year. This will give me a savings of $1,600 a year if I just pay the fine and there is no down side because pre-existing conditions can't be turned down to generate a new policy. I guess this is a good thing except I thought this was supposed to be free.