As we have promised during some of our blog updates that Compare Health Insurance is committed to both our clients and the public at large regarding healthcare reform. Part of this educational and informational process is to pass on important variables to consider going forward for you and your family and even business if self employed.
There are 4 primary rating factors for individual plans starting in 2014. These are family, geographic location of residence, tobacco usage and premium ratio. Lets go over the last 2 considerations which need to be clarified. The health insurance companies can upcharge up to 50% of the premium for tobacco use. The particular details of when a person is considered to have stopped smoking have yet to be determined to qualify for no upcharge. We would assume it will be determined by each particular health carrier.
Another factor for rate calculation is that the the rates for the oldest insureds up to age 64 years old can't be more than 3 times the rate of a younger person. We are assuming this is age 18 years old. Young people should expect to subsidize previous generations. We make no judgement on this rule but it is imperative for health insurance professionals to make sure accurate and pertinent information is given to the public.
If an employer offers health insurance to its employees then if an individual elects to get coverage on their own then a subsidy will not be available through the state exchange. There will be 4 different levels through the state exchange from the top platinum plan to gold, silver and bronze all offering different levels of coverage with the appropriate corresponding premium for the particular plan. Only a limited number of carriers will be offered annually through the exchange depending on the bids submitted to the exchange.
Eligible individuals whose income is between 133% to 400% of the federal poverty level can qualify for subsidies. We will provide additional information on subsidies at a later date. Consumers will be allowed to purchase through the private market outside of the exchange but will not be eligible for federal subsidies. Income ranges are from 14,856 t0 44,856 for an individual to 30,656 to 92,200 for a family.
Catastrophic plans will only be offered to indviduals 30 years or younger or meet the financial hardship definition. Penalties going forward for those individuals who don't want to purchase health insurance will start at 95.00 or 1% of modified gross income whichever is greater to 325.00 or 2% in 2015 and then 695.00 or 2.5% in 2016. The family penalty can't exceed more than 2085.00 in a year at this time although annual adjustments will occur.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns by calling toll free at 888-504-6171 or email us at info@comparecarriers.net . We look forward to working with you
