Subsidies available for those who qualify
Published in the November 25 – December 8, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Ronnie Almaraz
Ronnie Almaraz is a licensed Health Markets Insurance agent in Morgan Hill who wants to help local residents understand the details of the Affordable Care Act to get the most out of their healthcare opportunities. Morgan Hill Life asked him to explain this legislation.
Nationally, health care underwent a tectonic shift with the implementation of the ACA, also known as ObamaCare. What does this mean for residents of Morgan Hill?
It means individuals who could not qualify for health insurance because of their medical history are now able to get health insurance. Under the ACA, health insurance is now guaranteed. Those individuals who previously could not afford it may now have access to a subsidy to help pay for their health insurance if their household income/family size falls below 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Finally, those individuals who can afford health insurance but do not have coverage in 2015 may have to pay a penalty.
What are the timelines for rolling out the new care system?
The Affordable Care Act is a set of health insurance reforms that started in 2010 and will continue to roll out. Open enrollment in the health insurance marketplace started Nov. 1, 2015 and will end Jan. 31, 2016. However if you enroll by Jan. 31, 2016 you will not have to pay the penalty for any month before your coverage began. If you didn’t have coverage earlier in the year, you won’t have to pay a penalty for any of the previous months of 2015. After open enrollment ends, you won’t be able to get health coverage through the marketplace until the next annual enrollment period.
Health insurance is a confusing issue for people. What’s the best way to educate themselves so they can best benefit from it?
To become more educated on the Affordable Care Act, go to www.healthcare.gov or the Covered California website (www.coveredca.com) to learn the basics. You can also contact a local licensed CoveredCA certified agent who will assist you with the process, determine whether you’re eligible for cost assistance, and can help in designing a plan to suit your needs.
Will ObamaCare force people to switch doctors, have their company cut their hours, violate their privacy or end employer-run health insurance?
All ACA health plans are managed care plans and consequently all have networks that the insured’s must utilize to either be covered (HMO or EPO) or maximize their coverage (PPO). Some small business owners may discontinue providing employees access and may subsidize their premiums instead or direct them to the marketplace to get their premium subsidized from the exchange if their family size and household income qualifies them.
Ronnie Almaraz is the owner of Health Markets Insurance, 16985 S. Monterey Road #306. Call him at (408) 687-0731 or visit www.insphereis.com/ronnie.almaraz.
