Hardship Exemption
Initially the Affordable Care Act required most people to pay a fee if they did not have health coverage that qualified as "minimum essential coverage."
One exception was based on showing that a "hardship" prevented them from becoming insured.
The requirement to have health insurance ended on January 01, 2019 — This being the federal mandate is no longer in effect.
However, States can have their own mandates.
Hardship exemptions still exist. They are one type of exemption that someone can claim to qualify for Catastrophic coverage.
