WASHINGTON – They're young, healthy and flat broke – and now the government says they have to buy thousands of dollars' worth of medical insurance. What should tapped-out twentysomethings do?

Well, some may just do nothing. The annual fine for shrugging off the new federal insurance requirement, which is to begin in 2014, starts out at a relatively low $95, depending on income. That would be far cheaper than paying premiums.

But that doesn't necessarily make blowing off the mandate a good idea for the fit and frugal. Millions of young people will qualify for good deals on health care if they take time to sort through the complicated law.