Each year, the Affordable Care Act—popularly known as Obamacare—creates a period when health insurance policyholders can buy or change their coverage through state exchanges or the Federal government’s website. This year, many locations will feature fewer carriers bidding for your business, but virtually every county in America still has coverage options.
But pay attention: the Federal government has dramatically reduced the open enrollment period this year; in all states that use healthcare.gov it starts November 1 and ends December 15. Several state-run exchanges have announced extensions. New York has stayed with November 1 through January 31, 2018. This is very important because you cannot enroll outside of open enrollment unless you have a “qualifying event,” such as:
Marriage,
Becoming a U.S. citizen,
Birth or adoption,
Involuntary loss of other health coverage
Permanent move to an area where new health plans are available. This only applies in most cases if you already had coverage prior to your move.
Can’t you just continue with the coverage you have today? If you’re happy with your current policy, that’s one option, but prices are going up by an estimated average of 15% as many insurers are unsure whether they can count on government reimbursements. It doesn’t hurt to look and see if your current insurer is raising rates higher than the competition.
By now, you know that comparison shopping is not as difficult as it once was. The chief benefit of the ACA is the standardization. You can choose a bare bones bronze plan, a silver plan with lower deductibles, higher premiums, and broader coverage, or a gold or platinum plan with both higher premiums and broader coverage. The various plans in each category, to qualify to be on an exchange, have to offer similar coverage features. Information on plan costs can be found at this government website: www.healthcare.gov/choose-a-plan/your-total-costs/.
A second benefit is that, theoretically, the marketplaces create healthy competition among insurers, who bid for your business by lowering premiums below what they might have charged if the marketplace didn’t force them to match the competition feature-for-feature.
Of course, if you have a significant health issue that came up recently, then shopping takes on a new urgency. You might consider switching from a bronze to a silver plan, or silver to gold or platinum. Or you might realize that you’re not utilizing the medical system as much as you expected, and drop down to a baser metal.
Roughly 85% of the 11 million people who buy through one of the exchanges qualify for tax credits that significantly reduce out-of-pocket costs for deductibles and co-pays, and can also reduce premiums. The average monthly premium nationally before tax credits for a silver plan is $433 for 2017, but that drops to as little as $75 with tax credits. However, many uninsured adults aren’t aware that they are eligible to receive this assistance. The tax credits are only available to those who enroll in a marketplace policy, and cost-sharing help is only available in the silver plans.
You can get help enrolling and comparing plans by phone or with a local in-person guide, called a navigator. ACA marketplace call centers are available 24 hours a day, every day except holidays. At healthcare.gov, you can search by city and state or ZIP code to see a list of local organizations that can help you.
This article was written by an independent writer for Brewster Financial Planning LLC and is not intended as individualized legal or investment advice, and any opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. Past returns do not guarantee future returns.