"'The concept of the mandate was never to force everyone' to buy insurance"

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/2012/07/06/uninsured-massachusetts-residents-paid-penalty/R5gQ1JSun6VeaD2m7oKM2O/story.html

Thousands in Massachusetts still forgo health care insurance, pay penalty

By Chelsea Conaboy

Globe Staff  / July 6, 2012

Whatever it is called, the fine for not having insurance in Massachusetts is collected by the Department of Revenue through tax filings. For the fiscal year that ended last month, the fines brought in more than $20.6 million. Nationally, the Internal Revenue Service will handle collection through tax filings.

While the penalty garnered a lot of attention during legal challenges, Weil said, it is more of a backstop than the primary means of expanding coverage.

“The concept of the mandate was never to force everyone” to buy insurance, he said. “It was set in a whole system where every­one has an option and then you say, ‘You know what, we need you to pick one.’”