If you currently are not eligible for Medicare, Medicaid, group health coverage or some other coverage and if do not have any coverage, it is time to think about getting some. The time when you can sign up through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace, created by the Affordable Care Act, starts November 15. The Affordable Care Act is officially The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or PPACA and is also known as “ACA” and “Obamacare.”
The Affordable Care Act offers an opportunity for uninsured people to get health coverage at an affordable rate. By setting a minimum standard for health insurance plans, it seeks to protect people from being underinsured or uninsured.
Using the Marketplace (or Exchanges) you can see if you qualify for NJ FamilyCare, a premium tax credit or a cost-sharing program. NJ FamilyCare is New Jersey's publicly funded health insurance program, which includes CHIP, Medicaid and Medicaid Expansion. A premium tax credit is money either paid monthly by the federal government into a person’s insurance plan or when filing income tax to help defray the cost of a health insurance plan.
The Marketplace is also the easiest way to pick an insurance plan. Now that the initial problems have been solved, the process is quick and painless.
Key points:
- The Open Enrollment starts November 15. 2014, and runs until February 15, 2015. This is the time when anyone can sign up for a plan.
- After February 15, 2015, you can only sign up under special circumstances.
- To have health insurance in effect on January 1, 2015, you have to sign up between November 15 and December 15, 2014. After this you have to sign up by the 15th of the month to get coverage for the 1st of the following month.
- Depending on your income you may be eligible for NJ FamilyCare, a premium tax credit (money paid into your plan by the government) and/or cost-sharing reduction (reduced rates for co-pays, etc.). You must use the Marketplace to be eligible for any of kind of financial assistance through the Affordable Care Act.
- The penalty for not having coverage in 2015 will be higher than in 2014.
- Plans offered through the Marketplace are from private companies – not the federal government – and have to meet the standards established by law.
- If you have individual coverage already, it may be worth the time to see what is available in 2015. Changing plans may be to your advantage.
- If you are in Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, TRICARE or other government health programs you are not eligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
For information, go to the Marketplace at www.healthcare.gov (not .com).
