Applying for ACA 2017 Coverage

[GTFan]

That's good to know, I got the 'income verification needed' response this year too and was wondering if uploads were working. I tried it last year and was roundly ignored (they kept sending warning letters about sending in info), ended up mailing the stuff and never heard another peep back from them.

 

[sengsational]

I just went through the application process, mostly just pressing "next", since, when I logged-on, it had an application there already filled-in with last years' values.

I was pleased to see the subsidy when up from $1208/mo to $1902/mo. So I'm looking at $10/mo instead of $90/mo to me.

I was not pleased to see my only choice was BCBSNC, an organization which I have found outwardly hostile to it's customers, and can often be disingenuous. But it is what it is. The best I can hope for is not to get sick (which has been a good bet lately, knock wood).

My decision is down to exactly one policy...the ONLY HSA eligible policy available to me.

So the last decision, which I haven't made yet, is whether to trust BCBSNC not to hose me on stacked deductibles, or to just get two separate policies (by putting myself and DW into two different "health plan groups for your household"). The upside of separate policies is that the insurance company can't possible wrangle not paying if the single person max out of pocket is reached. The downside is that if one of us does hit double the max out of pocket, the other one doesn't get "free healthcare" for the rest of the year. The two options are exactly the same unless one of us spends over $13,100, which is the point where the other spouse would get free healthcare. I understood (last year), that they outlawed that aggregate deductible shell game, but I like the idea of isolating myself from any possibility of that.

 

[explanade]

Still enroll but may be gone after a couple of months into 2017.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Yikes. This is now even more distressing. I guess we'll enroll and try to get the subsidy. But given that it's likely to end early next year, we will be back to employer sponsored insurance or insurance with pre-existing conditions exclusions. We will be eligible for a subsidy, but will have a heck of a time proving it. We'll have to pay $20K+ per year without the subsidy. DS is in a bind too- as a substitute teacher he missed open enrollment in September. He makes $400-500/week and without a subsidy at age 24 his premium alone is $350+ per month.

I'm thinking he can sign up with a different company, get in their health plan.

I'm thinking of taking back my old job. It got much easier just after I left and I could get it back more than easily. I would need to work 75% time to get the insurance. The now have 5 part timers who replaced me. Ugh. We need the insurance and I never budgeted for $25K per year when healthy.

I'm saying this as I need to plan for the worst case scenario, as all of us who had counted on the ACA must now do.

 

[wmc1000]

I don't think that subsidies will be yanked immediately but rather the possibility of them going away for 2018 a more plausible scenario.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

When we signed up for 2017, it was for a whole year. Any Changes will most likely apply to 2018. If pre-existing is abolished, it will not be very popular and I do not think that will happen, or at least hope not.. Too many folk will be affected. I can only see costs going up though not down.

 

[pb4uski]

I predict that any changes will be effective in 2018 and beyond only. Things just don't work that fast. While I hope that they decide to divorce health insurance from employment entirely but that is too much to hope for. I doubt that we'll see a return of medical underwriting.

 

[jesaco]

If the Republican repeal Obamacare, will these discussions in monitoring MAGI, getting subsidies, etc be irrelevant? Will the insurance companies go back to refusing coverage with preexisting conditions? Premiums may go down for healthy people but would be a disaster to people with preexisting conditions if they could not get insurance at any price.

We retired early because we could get health insurance with the ACA and its a scary thought if they repeal it and people who were counting on the ACA for getting health insurance lose their coverage. ( Not eligible for subsidies and 4 years away from medicare)

 

[EastWest Gal]

I hope you're right. But the cost is prohibitive right now.

 

[MichaelB]

If the Republican repeal Obamacare, will these discussions in monitoring MAGI, getting subsidies, etc be irrelevant? Will the insurance companies go back to refusing coverage with preexisting conditions? Premiums may go down for healthy people but would be a disaster to people with preexisting conditions if they could not get insurance at any price.

We retired early because we could get health insurance with the ACA and its a scary thought if they repeal it and people who were counting on the ACA for getting health insurance lose their coverage. ( Not eligible for subsidies and 4 years away from medicare)

You can find many discussions on this if you search the archives.

It is premature to discuss this now, as there is no bill under consideration.

 

[GTFan]

So the last decision, which I haven't made yet, is whether to trust BCBSNC not to hose me on stacked deductibles, or to just get two separate policies (by putting myself and DW into two different "health plan groups for your household"). The upside of separate policies is that the insurance company can't possible wrangle not paying if the single person max out of pocket is reached. The downside is that if one of us does hit double the max out of pocket, the other one doesn't get "free healthcare" for the rest of the year. The two options are exactly the same unless one of us spends over $13,100, which is the point where the other spouse would get free healthcare. I understood (last year), that they outlawed that aggregate deductible shell game, but I like the idea of isolating myself from any possibility of that.

We've gone with one policy for both of us this year and next given the rule change to fix the family deductible/max OOP issue.

 

[medelste]

It is premature to discuss this now, as there is no bill under consideration.

Retirement involves hypothesizing about what the decades ahead will bring, whether it be about healthcare costs, inflation, social security benefits, income and capital gains taxes, etc. I hope discussions and opinions will continue to be allowed about these RE-influencing topics before bills come under consideration.

 

[wmc1000]

Follow up from my post #75 - Marketplace sent me an email letting me know my letter of explanation was accepted and no further action is required for my subsidy and cost sharing acceptance. Basically 1 week total turnaround.

 

[MichaelB]

Retirement involves hypothesizing about what the decades ahead will bring, whether it be about healthcare costs, inflation, social security benefits, income and capital gains taxes, etc. I hope discussions and opinions will continue to be allowed about these RE-influencing topics before bills come under consideration.

Then come discuss it in this thread http://www.early-retirement.org/for...e-and-retirement-again-84072.html#post1798685

 

[scrabbler1]

Put me down for those who think any changes won't become effective until 2018. It would be way too disruptive to cancel subsidies in the middle of the year or even a few months into the year, without setting up some alternate scenario, even one which consists of nothing more than an ACA repeal.

 

[audreyh1]

We each signed up for BCBSTX HMO Plus plans that are HSA compatible last night. We are returning to BCBSTX from Humana, because Humana dropped individual insurance plans to TX next year. Last year BCBSTX dropped all PPO individual plans not grandfathered in.

Seemed like a good thing to do while we were up late waiting for election results to trickle in. And I was getting a bit anxious about getting our applications in ASAP for some strange reason........

 

[explanade]

Repeal is at the top of the "first 100 days" agenda.

 

[MichaelB]

The original topic has run it's course and interest is now on the longer term aspects of the ACA. There already is a thread on that topic, so to avoid confusion, let's continue the conversation there http://www.early-retirement.org/for...and-retirement-again-84072-2.html#post1798763