Earlier this year, Congress passed a 2,500 page healthcare reform package with literally hundreds of new provisions. These included the sort of insurance provisions you might expect when you think "healthcare reform" (mandating that college grads can remain on their parents' policies, for example), as well as dozens of tax changes in support of the Act's goals (like imposing an excise tax on "Cadillac plans" costing above a certain amount).

Many of the Act's provisions have come under fire for overreaching. In fact, earlier this month, we wrote about a new requirement for issuing tax forms to vendors that already appears headed for repeal. But perhaps the most controversial part of the bill is so-called "individual mandate." This rule requires that, by 2014, every American must carry "minimum acceptable coverage" or pay a penalty for failing to do so:

• For 2014, the penalty is $95 or 1% of income, whichever is less.
• For 2015, the penalty is $325 or 2% of income.
• For 2016, the penalty is $695 or 2.5% of income.
• For 2017 and beyond, that $695 amount is indexed for inflation.

(There are exceptions to the rule, of course. If your taxable income is under the federal poverty line, or the cost of coverage is more than 8% of your household income, you don't have to pay. And if your taxable income is less than four times the federal poverty limit, you'll get tax credits to help pay for coverage.)

A group of 20 state attorneys general has challenged the mandate as unconstitutional, and the issue appears headed for the Supreme Court. President Obama has said that the mandate is not a tax - he told ABC's George Stephanopolous that "for us to say that you've got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase." But the Justice Department now claims it is in fact a tax. Their logic is that while the Constitution may not allow a "mandate," it certainly allows a "tax" - and therefore, the law passes constitutional muster.

If the Supreme Court agrees that the mandate really is a constitutionally-protected tax, it could amount to the biggest "tax increase" in history. The average employer-provided family insurance premium now tops $13,000. And that amount will only climb higher by the time the mandate applies in 2014.

Of course, this "tax" would be different than most other taxes. Typically, tax dollars collected from "taxpayers" go into a common governmental "treasury" before getting divvied up and spent by "politicians." The insurance mandate "tax" would go directly to the insurance company, without government "middleman," in exchange for the required coverage. Go directly to "benefit" - do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

Either way, the healthcare reform package will change how you pay taxes, so we will pay close attention to how it all shakes out. In the meantime, don't hesitate to call us with your questions. Just think of us as your "tax doctor," always on call!

Jay Malik, EA, ABA, of Doctors' Finance, LLC is located at 3570 Hamilton Blvd. Suite 301, Allentown, PA 18103
and can be reached at 610-258-9550 or www.DoctorsFinanceLLC.com