Posted on 10/04/2013 2:57:21 PM PDT by Maelstorm
It may seem like a clever idea to save yourself cash by not purchasing health insurance, but with Obamacare kicking in, you’ll have penalties to pay, which could cost you big bucks in the long run.
Not only are you playing financial Russian roulette – you could be forking out tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars if you’re injured in an accident or become seriously ill – you’ll also have to pay a penalty to the federal government for flouting the law, costing you hundreds or thousands of dollars more.
A wiser decision if you’re uninsured is to start shopping on your state health exchange, which opened Tuesday — with glitches – as a key part of health care reform.
Money Talks News founder Stacy Johnson has information in the video below about the penalties you’ll face if you ignore the law. Check it out, then continue reading for more details about health reform.
It’s OK if you feel at a loss about the Affordable Care Act, which is also known as Obamacare. You’re not alone. A newly released survey by the Commonwealth Fund found that only 4 in 10 adults were aware of the health exchanges and the financial subsidies available to help cover costs when you buy insurance there, and only one-third of those without insurance were aware of the new way to shop for health insurance.
In the first quarter of the year, 46 million Americans didn’t have health insurance, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The establishment of the state health exchanges, or insurance marketplaces, is designed to reduce the number of uninsured.
Who needs insurance?
Starting next year, almost everyone will need to be insured. You can purchase that insurance on your own or through the exchange, have it through your employer, or have it provided by government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, TRICARE and veterans health insurance programs.
There are some limited exceptions, such as for those who earn a very low income or are members of certain religious groups, as shown in this graphic by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
While you can start shopping for insurance on a state exchange now, the policies don’t take effect until Jan. 1.
What if I don’t buy insurance?
If you skip the insurance, you’ll pay a penalty. For 2014 the fine is $95 for an individual or 1 percent of your income, whichever is greater, along with $47.50 per uninsured child, maxing out at $285 for the year.
But by 2016, an individual would pay $695 or 2.5 percent of your income.
The TurboTax website has a calculator to help you determine how high a penalty you’d pay.
Without insurance, you’d also face a double whammy. By 2016 you’d be forking over almost $700 to the federal government and having nothing to show for it, and still have to pay your own medical bills if you’re injured or become ill.
What will insurance cost?
The exchanges will sell four levels of policies – platinum, gold, silver and bronze. Bronze plans will have the lowest premiums, but cover only 60 percent of costs. Platinum, on the other hand, will have the highest premiums, but cover 90 percent of costs.
If you earn up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($45,960 for an individual and $94,200 for a family of four this year) you’ll be eligible for a subsidy, which will come in the form of a tax credit. Subsidies are based on your family size and your earnings. The less you earn, the higher the subsidy.
With the subsidies, more than half of Americans should be able to find health insurance for less than $100 a month, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, although you might choose to pay more.
There also will be caps on out-of-pocket costs. Typically, the maximum an individual will pay in co-payments and deductibles next year is $6,350, and a family’s costs will be capped at $12,700.
What if you delay?
Because you can’t be turned down for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act if you have a pre-existing condition, you might be tempted to dawdle and see if you actually get sick before purchasing insurance.
But that strategy could easily backfire.
You’ll only be able to buy insurance on your state health exchange through March 31, 2014. After that, the open enrollment period will run from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 each year.
There are exceptions that allow you to purchase insurance on the exchange at any time of the year if you experience a life-changing event, such as moving to a new state, getting married, getting divorced, or having a baby.
While you can purchase insurance outside the exchange at any time, you won’t be eligible for a government subsidy, which is one of the cornerstones of health reform.
Bottom line: Ponying up for health insurance now can potentially save you from astronomical costs down the road.
Where are the choices for really cheap catastrophic coverage? That is all everyone really needs, if they want to self-cover for preventative stuff, like all Americans used to in our heyday.
Any church-going Christian can also opt into an established Christian healthcare co-op. This may not be a perfect fit for everybody, but it is a legitmate option under Obamacare that can get you into low premiums, keep you off the IRS radar, and not require you to subsidize abortion and various other evils.
I hate Roberts the little fascist POS, I wonder what gay news they had on him to get him to sell us all out.
Yeah, and Santa will hand-deliver the subsidy, while the Easter Bunny mows your yard and Thumbelina washes & details your car.
Better make sure you get sick during October-December...or whenever the hell their open enrollment is! Otherwise you are SOL!
Don’t forget if the cheapest policy costs more than 8% of your income and you don’t buy it you owe no penalty. If the policy costs $1,000/month you would have to make $150k/yr to owe a penalty if you didn’t buy.
I agree. That is why we have car insurance. We don’t have it to replace the brakes. I personally favor the idea of a voluntary fund that people who wish to contribute to can to help others as well as themselves in the event they need it to provide an offset to a catastrophic need. Even a non voluntary fund would be better than what we get with Obamacare.
This article is a pile of the usual leftest lies, misinformation and selectively omitted information.
Bronze plans in Colorado run around $600.00/month for an individual with $5,000.00 deductible and $6,000.00 out-of-pocket. Fines are FAR less than that. Oh, and Congress gave no means to the IRS to collect those fines anyway except from tax refunds, so just make sure you under-withhold every year, and you’ll never actually have to PAY the fines. Not to mention, dozens of categories of groups are exempted from the fines and there are also at least two-dozen hardship criteria to avoid the fines as well. O, and if you don’t have to file a tax return, guess what? You don’t have to pay a fine either.
Besides, why buy insurance until you get sick and need it, anyway? Plus, low-information voters and illegal aliens can just continue to go to the ER for their health needs and pay nothing at all.
but they can attach your wages and bank accounts.
VA, Affordable Care Act and You
What is the Affordable Care Act?
The Affordable Care Act, also known as the health care law, was created to expand access to coverage, control health care costs and improve health care quality and care coordination. The health care law does not change VA health benefits or Veterans’ out-of-pocket costs.
Three things you should know:
1 VA wants all Veterans to receive health care that improves their health and well-being.
2 If you are enrolled in VA health care, you don’t need to take additional steps to meet the health care law coverage standards. The health care law does not change VA health benefits or Veterans’ out-of-pocket costs.
3 If you are not enrolled in VA health care, you can apply at any time.
Veterans Enrolled in VA Health Care
The good news is that Veterans enrolled in VA health care programs have health coverage that meets the new health care law’s standard. You do not have to take any additional steps to have health coverage. Read more if enrolled…
Veterans Not Enrolled in VA Health Care
Veterans not currently enrolled in VA health care program can apply for enrollment at any time. Read more about enrolling…
Family Members
VA offers health care benefits for certain family members of Veterans through programs such as the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) and the Spina Bifida program. Read more about VA family programs…
Your family members who are not enrolled in a VA health care program should use the Marketplace to get coverage.
Additional Health Care Law Information
We understand you may have questions about the health care law and how it might affect you and your family. We compiled basic information about the health care law to help you make informed decisions about your health care. Let us know if you have questions regarding the health care law and your VA health care at 1-877-222-VETS (8387). After all, ensuring you receive quality health care is not just our obligation, it’s also our privilege.
How about if you get sick January through September most years? Even then, you won't get coverage until the first of the next month if you've applied by the 15th, or the first of the second month following otherwise.
Me neither. I’ll never sign up. Right now my employee plan is grandfathered in but in but even with that my insurance premiums are increasing 14% though honestly I’ve not went back to see what the rate of increase was before.
Clarification: If you get sick Oct - Dec you’re “in luck”, except for the month-following delay.
Personally, however, I’ve never been able to schedule my ER visits for heart failure and strokes reliably that far in advance.
“hundreds or thousands” is not necessarily the same as “hundreds of thousands”. Reading comprehension is good.
I was informed this week that my insurance is being cancelled Jan 1st because it does not fit with obamacare. However, I'm going to be given 3 different plans to choose from and if I don't make a choice I will automatically be enrolled in a plan that is closest to what I have now. My wife is nervous about not having coverage. I'm not. She will probably stay insured. My two sons (they are invincibles 20-30) are probably going to agree with me and just pay the penalty.
In this new world I'll buy insurance when I get sick.
Good idea, I’ve talked to people from there on the Internet.
Seems like friendly folks. The Cloud Rat (which doesn’t look much like a rat) was my favorite animal at the zoo in Chicago.
The New York Times could not find ONE American citizen under the old medical system that was denied medical care. And they looked... liberals love a sob story - even when it’s a lie.
But here’s the good news for the New York Times. Under the new ObamaCare system they’ll find LOTS of people going broke and being denied care. Of course being the biased liberal little suck ups that they are - they’ll ignore the horrors that are to come...
Same for the LA Times, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune...
Waxman is still trying to figure out how to pass cap and trade and other assorted AGW junk so we all don't die from the 'heat'.
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