Under the new Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act, state residents who are 18 and above were required to obtain health insurance policies that tend to meet a minimum creditable coverage standard by the time January 01,
2009 rolled in. All those who failed to comply with the new requirements are now subject to fines that would be applied to his or her personal income tax.

In case someone has lost his or her job as well as the health insurance, there is a grace period of op-to three consecutive months where one would not be fined for a gap in coverage. Even if after three months, new coverage is not purchased, one would be subject to some heavy fees.

Depending upon a person's yearly income level, a fees ranging from $17 to $89 per month could be paid on a monthly basis for each month that the coverage was not purchased. In case the income of a person is very low, he or she might qualify for a waiver of these fees.