No, it goes on the federal poverty level. If you make up to 3x the federal poverty level, you qualify for subsidy of some kind.
The subsidies are on a sliding scale, so the amount you save by earning 1000 less is probably less than 1000. Besides, you'd have to be retarded to calculate your life that way. Most people work their hardest to earn as much as they can and healthcare is a secondary thought.
Until recently I was on Washington State's Basic Health program as a qualifying poor college student who was too old to be on my parent's plan. When they dropped 40,000 people from the rolls this year to save money (due to Bush's economy), I gave up my spot to try to make it on my own only to find that my $17/month plan was now going to cost me $500 on Cobra or $320 on my girlfriend's work policy.
I'm not sure. I'd like to know this myself. However, whatever the penalty is it seems justified given that if you can afford it you need to have it to keep everyone else from picking up the tab when you get sick and have to get emergency treatment. All that extra cost goes into our premiums if you take the gamble and lose and wind up making the state foot the bill.
If you can't afford it, you're given enough money so you can.
If you can afford it and decide to be an ass and take the risk and make everyone else liable for your irresponsibility, you deserve to be taxed. The tax covers the cost of the premiums you're screwing the rest of the country out of by being an idiot.
