Is It Illegal To Not Have Health Insurance In Alabama? 
That is a great question ! While technically it is not illegal to not have health insurance , the Affordable Care Act -LRB- Obamacare -RRB- does impose a penalty for not having it . The longer you go uninsured , the bigger the fine . The idea behind having insurance is to lower costs for everyone . When someone without insurance goes to the doctor , they get treated anyway . The doctor just adds that cost onto everyone else 's bill in the form of higher charges . Also , the more healthy people added to the insurance pool , the lower the costs for everyone . When only sick people buy insurance , the costs are much higher . I hope that helps , thanks for asking ! 