Health Insurance Penalty during change of status

[deepak-anand-me]

I was ineligible to work for 6 month in 2020 due to pending Adjustment of Status and waiting for Employment Authorization. Because of that, I did not had Health Insurance during that period. I did not applied for any aid as that might have impacted Adjustment of Status application.

What are my options to avoid penalty in that scenario as Health Insurance provided by my spouse's job was not affordable?

[Mike9241]

there is no longer a federal penalty for failure to have health insurance.  you didn't mention if your state requires such coverage. 

[deepak-anand-me]

Sorry forgot to mention, I am in California where this restriction was put in place.

[WendyN2]

I would definitely check immediately with your local Medicaid Office as they are really doing a terrific job in back-dating coverage dates for these exact types of occurrences. And, yes, this for you is completely legal.