how obamacare health subsidies will work - are you confused about obamacare?
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http://AIADirectQuote.com How ObamaCare Health Insurance Subsidies Will Work. Heather Loughlin is seen on Monday, May 9, 2011 in Montpelier, Vt. Loughlin was working as a vice president at the Sugarbush ski resort when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Before long, she found herself no longer able to work and buying insurance with a subsidy from the state under a current program but with a private insurer. (Toby Talbot/AP Photo) Beginning in 2014, enormous insurance premium subsidies and payment supports will be available under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to millions of lower-income individuals and families. While Obamacare could always be overturned before then, the law has been upheld as constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. And short of historic landslide victories in this November's elections by the law's largely Republican opponents, changing major aspects of it will be difficult.TRANSCRIPT
How Obamacare Health Insurance
Subsidies Will Work
Beginning in 2014, enormous
insurance premium subsidiesand payment supports will
be available under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
to millions of lower-income individuals and families.
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While Obamacare could always be overturned before then, the
law has been upheld as constitutional by the U.S.
Supreme Court. And short of historic landslide victories in this November's elections by the law's largely Republican opponents, changing major aspects of it will be difficult.
U.S. News spoke to officials in the U.S. Departments of Health
and Human Services and Treasury,
which have primary oversight of ACA tax and subsidy
benefits. They are producing a growing mountain of rules to implement the law. Beyond
ideological and financial disputes, the ACA is also an
extraordinarily extensive and complex package.
The law's consumer subsidies -- premium tax credits and
help with out-of-pocket health expenses -- will be available to
people who cannot meet its individual mandate to have health insurance, meaning
they are unable to find affordable coverage from
employers or other private insurance plans.
The law's consumer subsidies -- premium tax credits and
help with out-of-pocket health expenses -- will be available to
people who cannot meet its individual mandate to have health insurance, meaning
they are unable to find affordable coverage from
employers or other private insurance plans.
Instead, they will turn to the new state insurance exchanges
that are scheduled to be created next year. The law says
states can create their own exchanges or let the federal government do it for them.
Many states, mostly those with Republican governors, are holding off on this decision
until after the elections.www.AIADirectQuote.com
Eligibility for supports will be determined by the relationship
of individual or family gross income levels to the national federal poverty level (FPL). In 2012, the FPL is $11,170 for a
one-person household and rises by $3,960 for each
additional family member. For a four-person family, for example, the 2012 FPL is
$23,050. It increases each year due to inflation so will be a bit
higher in 2014.
Higher health taxes have gotten much of the
attention in the debate over health reform. But
the law also includes two types of extensive
financial help for lower-income Americans.
Under the ACA, individuals and families with incomes from
100 to 400 percent of the FLP will qualify for tax credits to
reduce the premiums for health insurance purchased through the exchanges. In
addition, incomes from 100 to 250 percent of the FPL also
will qualify for help in paying out-of-pocket costs for the co-
pays and deductibles not covered by their health
insurance.
Both assistance programs are tied
to the development ofstandardized healthcare
policies. Modeled after the Massachusetts health
reform law, these policies will be offered in four tiers -- bronze, silver, gold, and
platinum.
To qualify for a tier, the private insurance companies
developing these plans must promise they will cover
specified percentages of the typical healthcare expenses for
people covered by the plan. These "actuarial value"
thresholds are 60 percent for bronze plans, 70 percent for
silver, 80 percent for gold, and 90 percent for platinum.
The silver plans have a special role in the tax credits and
payment subsidies. In a state insurance exchange, the
second cheapest silver plan will become the benchmark for
tax credits. (Using the cheapest plan might have led to insurers trying to game the system.) Because healthcare
costs differ around the country, this benchmark
premium will not be the same in every state.
However, the percentages of this premium that can be
received as health insurance tax credits will be the same. They are based on a sliding scale of FPL percentages.
People and families earning 133 percent of FPL, for
example, will have to pay only 2 percent of their income
toward the health insurance premium.
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They will receive the difference as a tax credit.
The payment limit for those at 400 percent of FPL is
much higher -- 9.5 percent of their income -- so their tax credit will be smaller.
Here's the list of FPL percentages and sliding scales of income that people must pay toward their health insurance premiums:
•Up to 133 percent of FPL: Payments are 2 percent of income.
•133 percent up to 150 percent of FPL: Payments begin at 3.0 and rise to 4.0 percent of income.
•150 percent to 200 percent of FPL: Payments begin at 4.0 percent and rise to 6.3 percent of income.•200 percent to 250 percent of FPL: Payments begin at 6.3 percent and rise to 8.05 percent of income.•250 percent to 300 percent of FPL: Payments begin at 8.05 percent and rise to 9.5 percent if income.•300 percent to 400 percent of FPL: Payments are 9.5 percent of income.
Your guide to the Affordable Care Act.
• Why do you need health insurance?
• Where will you get health insurance in 2014?
• Mistakes to avoid when buying health insurance
•How to get the most for your health insurance dollar
• How the health insurance mandate penalty will work
• Should I pay the Obamacare tax penalty?
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“Are You Confused Yet
About Obamacare And What
Impact It Will Have On YOU”?
We cannot predict the outcome of any future legislation or
litigation related to Healthcare Reform. As described under “Item 1. Business—Health
Insurance Industry and Market Opportunity,” we expect
Healthcare Reform to result in profound changes to the
individual health insurance market and our business.
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Know, But What You Do With
What You Know!”
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