Obamacare has been live since only Oct. 1, and already working people are receiving notices of cancellation of their private health insurance plans.

I got one. And everyone I know who works in the private sector has received a notice of cancellation of their private health insurance.

Kaiser Health News has a new story about all of the health plans now sending hundreds of thousands of cancellation letters to people who buy their own coverage. This will force consumers who want to keep plans they currently have to buy more costly policies.

Kaiser reports an estimated 14 million people purchase their own coverage because they don’t get it through their jobs.

“'The arithmetic is inescapable,' said Patrick Johnston, chief executive officer of the California Association of Health Plans,” Kaiser reported. “Costs must be spread, so while some consumers will see their premiums drop, others will pay more — “no matter what people in Washington say.”

Obamacare exemptions

And there are all of the Obamacare exemptions, which I’ve written extensively about.

It is important to note that the Congressional Budget Office projects only 2 percent of Americans will actually pay the “mandatory” fine for non-participation.

According to the IRS, “Certain individuals who are not required to file an income tax return but who technically fall outside the statutory exemption for those with household income below the filing threshold.”

“HHS regulations also provide that the hardship exemption will be available on a case-by-case basis for individuals who face other unexpected personal or financial circumstances that prevent them from obtaining coverage.”

“The shared responsibility payment (IRS penalty) should not apply to any taxpayer for whom coverage is unaffordable, who has other good cause for going without coverage, or who goes without coverage for only a short time.”

IRS allowable exemptions

These exemptions leave only the working middle class, and those who pay income tax to pick up the tab:

* Individuals who cannot afford coverage;

* Taxpayers with income below the federal filing threshold;

* Hardship;

* Individuals who experience short coverage gaps;

* Religious conscience;

* Members of a health-care sharing ministry;

* Incarcerated individuals;

* Individuals who are not lawfully present;

* Native American Indians.

Who doesn’t pay?

The half of Americans who do not pay federal income taxes will not be required to pay the “mandatory” IRS fine if they do not buy government health insurance.

Illegal aliens will not be fined.

And just in case anyone else was missed in the exemption list, the last paragraph was added to cover any other vulnerable group:

“The HHS regulations also provide that the hardship exemption will be available on a case-by-case basis for individuals who face other unexpected personal or financial circumstances that prevent them from obtaining coverage.”

By Katy Grimes

There is yet one more snafu in the Obamacare health care law — paying for it.

The new federal health law, going into effect January 1, 2014, requires most Americans to carry health insurance. But this presents a challenge for the large number of “unbankable” Americans.

Most health plans accept a credit card for the first month’s premium payment and then require customers to pay monthly with a check or an electronic funds transfer from a checking account.

Those options won’t work for the “unbankables,” people who do not maintain a checking or savings account in a bank.

Kaiser Health News reports:

 For ordinary Americans deemed unbankable, those who don’t have a traditional checking or savings account, it can be hard to simply pay bills. And that is about to become a big problem for those who also lack health coverage — and for the health insurance companies trying to sell them coverage. After all, how do you sell a product to a customer who has no way to pay you?

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, one in five households in the United States, or about 51 million adults have only a tenuous relationship with a traditional bank, relying instead on check-cashing stores and money lenders.

No federal health laws including the Affordable Care Act, require health insurers to accept all forms of payment, including credit cards or the cash-loaded, pre-paid debit cards that people without bank accounts often rely on.