Don’t Miss Open Enrollment
Don’t Miss Open Enrollment
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 government 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 government has dramatically reduced the open enrollment period this year; in most states it starts November 1 and ends December 15. 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 and broader coverage, or a gold plan with more of both, and the various plans in each category, to qualify to be on an exchange, have to offer similar coverage features.
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 come 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 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 significant reduce out-of-pocket costs for deductibles and co-pays, and can also reduce premiums. The average monthly premium 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.
Sources:
Post by Phil Ratcliff
Phil Ratcliff, President of rebel Financial, is a senior financial advisor that holds an AIF®, CFP®, ChFC®, and CLU® certifications. He started his career at American Express Financial Advisors in 2003, then moved to AXA Advisors for 7 years before founding rebel Financial LLC in 2013.
