OCTOBER 1, 2013

Today is a historic day. The major provision of the Affordable Care Act begins to take place today. Millions of uninsured, working Americans can begin to apply for healthcare coverage using the newly developed Marketplace.

So, what is this Marketplace? It is a one-stop shopping arena for purchasing health insurance. You can look at all the options and have all the information you will need to make a decision. The Marketplace will be available online, by phone, or in designated locations. If you don’t get your insurance from your employer, then you can shop the Marketplace. The information from all the insurance companies will be available in one place and you can compare coverage options – side-by-side, with the same information for each company explaining the coverage and the cost.

The Marketplace offers insurance in what they call “Four Metal Levels”: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The factors affecting your cost are the premium, or monthly cost for health insurance, the out-of-pocket expenses that you will pay at the time of service, the benefits you will receive and the amount the insurer will pay.

In order to make the health insurance more affordable for working families, there will be tax credits that will go towards your monthly health insurance premiums. These tax credits will vary depending on the size of your family and your income. There is also some money available for cost sharing, which means you could get lower deductibles and co-payments if you meet the income guidelines.

There are penalties for not purchasing health insurance. If you have insurance through your employer, you are all set. If you are uninsured and do not purchase health insurance, the penalty is 1% of your income or $95 – whichever is greater. But, by the year 2017 that amount will increase to 2.5% of your income or $695 – again, whichever is greater. There are some exceptions to the mandate.

For those in our state with the lowest incomes – those living at or below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level, you will qualify for Medicaid when expansion takes affect sometime next year (hopefully, by April). If you have a family of 4 and make $31,322 or less, you may qualify for Medicaid next year.

If you have questions, call 1-800-318-2596 or go online to healthcare.gov. They are available 24/7 and can answer your questions about healthcare reform.