Today, USC Annenberg’s California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health Reporting released a new “Ask Emily” column.

The bi-weekly column, written by senior writer Emily Bazar, aims to answer questions about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

The column that ran today answered questions from readers about meeting the health insurance requirement under the Affordable Care Act, as well as the exceptions to this requirement.

According to the column, the law requires most people to have a certain amount of health insurance to avoid a tax penalty. However, exemptions to the tax penalty exist for special circumstances, such as being a member of federally recognized Native American tribe, being in the country illegally or having an income low enough that you are not required to file a tax return.

The California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health Reporting reports and produces content on issues concerning California healthcare as it pertains to consumers and policymakers.