Hi everyone, let me just say thanks for looking at my question.


I spent the last 5 years living in Asia (most recently China) and I came back to the US in August. After about a month and a half of being unemployed, I found some online private contracting work from a company in Japan. (They don't withhold my taxes or offer health insurance). So I am without health insurance (in China the school paid 70% of my medical bills) and I want to get short term insurance (I have a full time position lined up for February of next year) but I don't understand how the obamacare penalty will work in my situation.

I made most of my income in Chinese RMB, and converted to USD is probably in the ball park of $22,000. My wife is a foreign national, but she is here on a tourist visa for a few months, does she need to be insured?

Thanks again.