Individual Mandate Update
As you may have heard, Congress repealed the Individual Mandate with their tax bill in December 2017. This means that, starting in 2019, people who do not enroll in “qualified” insurance under the Affordable Care Act will not have to pay a penalty with their 2019 taxes. The individual mandate is still in effect for 2018. If…
Special Enrollment Periods Under The ACA
One MAJOR difference brought about by the ACA is in the enrollment process for health insurance. If you purchase your own insurance through the Marketplace or directly through an insurance company, there are two ways in which you can enroll in coverage: During Open Enrollment: Open Enrollment is scheduled to take place from November 1st…
If I Qualify for a Health Insurance Tax Subsidy, How Do I Get It?
In order to find out if you qualify for a tax subsidy, you can use this subsidy calculator. In general, it is very accurate, but to get your final subsidy ruling, you must go through the application process at healthcare.gov. If you definitely do NOT qualify for a subsidy, you probably just want to go…
How Can Small Businesses Prepare For Health Care Reform?
Health Care Reform Guidelines for Small Business If you do not currently offer benefits to employees and don’t want to start, under the new Health Care Reform guidelines you are not required to offer health insurance if you have less than 50 employees. If you have more than 50 employees, you do not face any…
Uninsured? What You Should Be Doing To Prepare For Health Care Reform
First you want to figure out if you will be eligible for tax subsidies (based on income) if you get coverage through the Exchange/Marketplace in January. You will get assistance paying for health coverage if your household income is between 100% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Level. Calculate your expected health insurance expense with…
Will Health Care Reform Close the Medicare Donut Hole Coverage Gap?
Right now, Medicare Part D coverage applies to the first $2,970 of retail prescription drug costs for a Medicare recipient with a Part D plan. This included the portion paid by the recipient in the form of deductibles and coinsurance/copays as well as the portion covered by the insurance company. Once the recipient hits $2,970…
Why is the Employer Mandate being delayed?
The Employer Mandate is the portion of Health Care Reform that penalizes large employers for not offering affordable health-coverage to its full-time employees. The penalties apply to employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees. On July 2nd, President Obama announced that the Employer Mandate would be delayed until 2015. The reason given was to…
