Health insurance subsidy calculator

[pb4uski]

Someone recently posted a link to a health insurance subsidy calculator that was NOT the Kaiser calculator. It seemed better to me in that it could do calculations for various family sizes other than just single and family of four.

I can't seem to find it. Does anyone remember this and have the link? Thanks.

 

[rbmrtn]

I think it was this one from berkeley

National Health Reform Calculator

 

[ziggy29]

I think it was this one from berkeley

National Health Reform Calculator

Yes, I think that was the one.

The most important calculator may be the one which tells you where 399% of the federal poverty level is for your household situation, so you can make sure you don't earn more than that.

 

[golfnut]

Are dividends/interest considered part of family income? Or has this yet to be clarified?

Golfnut

 

[landover]

I think it was this one from berkeley

National Health Reform Calculator

Thanks. It is showing Medicaid for an income of 30,000 and family of four. How will this effect ER, it would still be possible to buy private insurance and get subsidy rather than covered under Medicaid? I guess for LYBM ERs, 30000 is good income with a paid up house.

 

[rbmrtn]

Are dividends/interest considered part of family income? Or has this yet to be clarified?

Golfnut

Yes, I think they use something call MAGI ( modified adjusted gross income ) for calculations similar to IRA eligibility. It adds back other items as well, like tax exempt interest.

Some explanation in this doc...

http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8194.pdf

 

[rbmrtn]

I guess for LYBM ERs, 30000 is good income with a paid up house.

Works for me

 

[pb4uski]

I think it was this one from berkeley

National Health Reform Calculator

That's the one I was looking for. Thanks.

Has anyone compared the two using the same assumptions? I assume that this is just a more refined calculator but follows the same scheme.

 

[golfnut]

Yes, I think they use something call MAGI ( modified adjusted gross income ) for calculations similar to IRA eligibility. It adds back other items as well, like tax exempt interest.

Some explanation in this doc...

http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8194.pdf

Thanks for this info!

Golfnut

 

[ziggy29]

Thanks. It is showing Medicaid for an income of 30,000 and family of four. How will this effect ER, it would still be possible to buy private insurance and get subsidy rather than covered under Medicaid? I guess for LYBM ERs, 30000 is good income with a paid up house.

Livable income for two empty-nesters with a modest lifestyle in a low-cost area. Doesn't seem like much for a family of 4, paid off house or not. But maybe that's just me.

 

[pb4uski]

Thanks. It is showing Medicaid for an income of 30,000 and family of four. How will this effect ER, it would still be possible to buy private insurance and get subsidy rather than covered under Medicaid? I guess for LYBM ERs, 30000 is good income with a paid up house.

I plan to have my income be higher than the Medicaid limit because I would rather have private insurance than Medicaid. I'm thinking that I will limit my Roth conversions so I am just inside the subsidy income limit.

 

[ziggy29]

I'm thinking that I will limit my Roth conversions so I am just inside the subsidy income limit.

There's that "399% calculator" again.

 

[pb4uski]

Might even be less than 399% in that I am concerned that some unanticipated CG distribution or something else out of left field will pop up between year and and when I finalize my return and blow my well laid plan to smithereens.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Thanks. It is showing Medicaid for an income of 30,000 and family of four. How will this effect ER, it would still be possible to buy private insurance and get subsidy rather than covered under Medicaid? I guess for LYBM ERs, 30000 is good income with a paid up house.

What I plan on doing, is to do enough IRA to Roth conversions to up my income over the Medicaid Threshold.

 

[meierlde]

What I plan on doing, is to do enough IRA to Roth conversions to up my income over the Medicaid Threshold.

Check carefully as the Medicaid limit in some states will remain at 100% of Poverty, while in others it will be at 133%. (Due to the supreme court decision)

 

[Animorph]

I'm not seeing a big cliff using the Berkeley calculator.

Family of 3, youngest adult 21 ($506 total HI premium monthly):
$30k -> $398 monthly subsidy
$35k -> $345
$40k -> $285
$45k -> $223
$50k -> $157
$55k -> $87
$60k -> $31
$65k -> $0 (still says this is 340% of Federal poverty level)

This seems much more reasonable than our previous calculations. However, it is for a family of 3, so maybe that's enough different.

 

[ziggy29]

I'm not seeing a big cliff using the Berkeley calculator.

Family of 3, youngest adult 21 ($506 total HI premium monthly):
$30k -> $398 monthly subsidy
$35k -> $345
$40k -> $285
$45k -> $223
$50k -> $157
$55k -> $87
$60k -> $31
$65k -> $0 (still says this is 340% of Federal poverty level)

Could be because of a 21-year-old in there. Now compare this to a family of 2, youngest is 51 instead of 21:

$30k -> $1110 monthly subsidy
$35k -> $1050
$40k -> $984
$45k -> $912
$50k -> $870
$55k -> $830
$60k -> $791 (397% of FPL)
$60,600 -> $0 (401% of FPL)

That is the most expensive $600 anyone has ever earned. So in this case it's obvious that it's not terribly advantageous to exceed $60,000 in income unless you *greatly* exceed it to the point where the loss of subsidy (to the tune of about $9,500 a year) isn't a major concern.

 

[Animorph]

Family of 2, youngest adult 50 ($1,266 total HI premium monthly):
$30k -> $1110 monthly subsidy
$35k -> $1050
$40k -> $984
$45k -> $912
$50k -> $870
$55k -> $830
$60k -> $791
$61k -> $0 (403% of FPL)
$65k -> $0 (430% of Federal poverty level)

There is a cliff here. Probably worse for a single person? Also apparently depends a lot on the assumed monthly premium. You might want to adjust the age of youngest adult to match a reasonable premium amount. $506 for 3 versus $1266 for 2 is clearly bogus for us, but age based.

 

[Animorph]

For a family of 3 it looks like the FPL is about $76k according to this, so we should still be able to fill up the 15% tax bracket fairly well for a couple of years at least. Until DS gets a job.

Yep, we doubled Ziggy.

 

[marko]

If I recall correctly, MAGI does NOT include SS payments. Anyone care to comment?

If that is so, I can think of about 12,000 good reasons to take it as soon as possible.

 

[ziggy29]

For a family of 3 it looks like the FPL is about $76k according to this, so we should still be able to fill up the 15% tax bracket fairly well for a couple of years at least. Until DS gets a job.

Yeah, that sounds like you can use all the 15% bracket without falling off the cliff. I suspect that's what I'd probably be aiming for in your situation.

 

[Animorph]

Single doesn't look quite as bad, since the HI premium is lower. It's maxing out at a subsidy of $212/month at $44k income and $560/month HI premium for a 60 year old.

 

[ziggy29]

Another thing I question about the Berkeley calculator is that it only looks at the age of the youngest covered adult. Let's say there are two families of three: One is a single parent with two college age children (family A); the other is a couple with one college age child (Family B).

Let's say the ages of Family A are: 43, 22, 20.

Let's say the ages of Family B are: 62, 60, 19.

You would think Family B is more costly to insure, right? But if all you look at is the age of the youngest, if *anything* this calculator would indicate Family A would cost more because the youngest is older.

That can't be right... can it?

 

[pb4uski]

.....

60k -> $791 (397% of FPL)
$60,600 -> $0 (401% of FPL)

That is the most expensive $600 anyone has ever earned. So in this case it's obvious that it's not terribly advantageous to exceed $60,000 in income unless you *greatly* exceed it to the point where the loss of subsidy (to the tune of about $9,500 a year) isn't a major concern.

Absolutely. A 1,582% economic cost ignoring income taxes!!! I think I'll target $58k so I'll have some breathing room for unanticipated items or if a deduction is denied upon audit or something like that.

 

[marko]

Answer to my own question:
from healthreformgps.org

On October 27th, the House voted 262-157 to pass H.R. 2576, a bill to strike out a “glitch” in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would have allowed middle-class couples to enroll in Medicaid starting in 2014. Under the ACA, before the new bill passed, the majority of Social Security benefits were not taxed, and thus not reviewed when determining Medicaid eligibility. A couple earning as $60,000 per year could have gained access to Medicaid. H.R. 2576 moves to include Social Security benefits as income when calculating modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). MAGI is used to determine Medicaid eligibility. On Tuesday, October 25th, the Obama administration publicly supported the bill.