Wednesday, July 24, 2013

What is the story on the discounts for medical insurance to be available next January?


Here in Conn and other states individuals will be able to go online and find out if they qualify for premium support on medical insurance. Some call it a premium discount and it is based on a persons family income. The online system is scheduled to be available for viewing this October and the premium support will be starting in January.

Single individuals with income of up to about $46,000 will be eligible for premium support. The most a Single person earning say $42,000 would pay is 9.5% of their annual income. This comes out to be a monthly payment of $332.50. When income is below $30,000 the percent they pay will be lower. Whether they are age 32 or 62 does not matter.

Individuals living in Conn can take a look at what they may pay by going to Connecticut's online enrollment site. AccessHealthCT.com. The home page directs you to the Savings calculator, which will make a projection.

The theory of the system is you go to an online site, enter personal and financial information, and in real time learn if you are eligible. The system is to check, as your information is entered, with what is called a federal hub and include agencies such as the IRS, Social Security, Homeland Security (to confirm citizenship). How much will be available in real time starting this fall is not yet known.

Interested in all the technical details on how premium support will work? How a person will have to reconcile the tax credit they receive? Take a look at this July 24th blog.

BTW - what a person technically will receive is an Advanceable Premium Tax Credit (APTC). If a person qualifies for premium support the system will send money to the medical insurance company the person selected and that company will send them a balance due invoice each month.

Questions? Call (860) 451-9793


John C Parker, RHU, LTCP
Niantic CT

Sunday, July 14, 2013

What's this about delays in federal health reform


Starting just before the July 4th holiday federal agencies announced various changes or delays in health reform's implementation timeline.

My note today is to share a couple things which affect employers:

● The penalty for employers with over 50 employees who do not offer medical insurance will not be imposed beginning Jan 1, 2014. Instead the effective date will change to Jan 1, 2015. The requirement to offer coverage or pay penalty is still there - just not going to be enforced.

● The requirement for employers and health insurance companies to make various reports was also been delayed.

Couple things, which will affect individuals who are applying for premium support through the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Connecticut marketplace is calling itself Access Health CT.

● Individuals will be asked to attest if they currently have employer based medical insurance. Individuals will also be asked about the level of their coverage and it's cost. The planned online verification process will be delayed.

● An individual will also enter their income to determine what, if any, premium support for which they qualify. This will not be verified through the online enrollment system as planned. However, similar to other tax related reporting the confirmation will be made as part of a person's annual 1040 tax return. If an individual receives premium support, which is technically a refundable tax credit, and they are not eligible it will have to be paid back. If negligent reporting is found an individual can also be fined up to $25,000.

Contact if any questions. (860) 451-9793