A preliminary version of the Colorado health care exchange is up and running. Home | Connect for Health Colorado. No policy specifics, but there is a calculator and some helpful information.
My live in gf of 5 years is currently on Cobra for another year or so. When Obamacare kicks in will her eligibility be based on her income (which is zero) or our combined HH income? I'm covered through former employer coverage.
Not for sure but I am guessing it's going to be related to whether you claim her as a dependent for tax purposes. See the section on Family Size in the link
26 USC § 5000A - Requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage | Title 26 - Internal Revenue Code | U.S. Code | LII / Legal Information Institute
(A) Family size
The family size involved with respect to any taxpayer shall be equal to the number of individuals for whom the taxpayer is allowed a deduction under section 151 (relating to allowance of deduction for personal exemptions) for the taxable year.
In this document, look at the comparison for an unmarried couple. They assume two individual policies versus a family policy for a married couple
https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41137.pdf
if you don't file a joint return you are single under PPACA
We each file single. Suppose now that she is not working I could list her as a dependent and then file "head of household".
If she files next year as single with zero income I guess she'd qualify for Medicaid.
looks like another form of the marriage tax!
Not for sure but I am guessing it's going to be related to whether you claim her as a dependent for tax purposes. See the section on Family Size in the link
26 USC § 5000A - Requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage | Title 26 - Internal Revenue Code | U.S. Code | LII / Legal Information Institute
(A) Family size
The family size involved with respect to any taxpayer shall be equal to the number of individuals for whom the taxpayer is allowed a deduction under section 151 (relating to allowance of deduction for personal exemptions) for the taxable year.
In this document, look at the comparison for an unmarried couple. They assume two individual policies versus a family policy for a married couple
https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41137.pdf
We each file single. Suppose now that she is not working I could list her as a dependent and then file "head of household".
If she files next year as single with zero income I guess she'd qualify for Medicaid.
Great links from rbmrtn. Those CRS reports are excellent and always informative. Thanks!
As a single person, she has to apply for an individual policy at the state health exchange. As your tax dependent that might (would probably?) require her to declare your total household income to determine eligibility for premium support. She is not automatically eligible for Medicaid unless your state has implemented the new eligibility criteria. That's something you probably want to check.
Duh brainfart. You live in Colorado, which has passed the new Medicaid expansion. She is eligible for Medicaid.
Reduced by $945 a month at $60K? I can't believe that unless you have 5-6 kids who are covered as dependents.I get confused by the term "tax credit". Assuming our income is about $60k, the calculator shows a tax credit of $945/month for DW and I. It says you can use this credit immediately to reduce your premium. However, our federal income tax will only be a few thousand dollars as we will have little income other than cap gains and dividends - which are taxed at zero since we would be in the 15% tax bracket.
So, would we really be ablt to use the $945 to reduce our premium?
Our own situation says that as a couple with no kids, age 48 and 45 (as we will be on 1/1/2014), with a $30K income we'd pay about $150 a month and get a subsidy of about $800. So if we'd get a subsidy of $800 I'm not sure how you'd get one of $945 with a $60K income unless it was because of several dependents.
eridanus said:Oregon also has their rates online.
http://www.oregonhealthrates.org/
For an individual 40 year old in Portland, the bronze cost is just north of ~$200. That's not much different than an HDHP plan with a $5000 deductible.
Thanks for the post.. This is the rate friendliest one I have seen yet. I am almost 50 so I split the difference and estimate to be around $300 a month. Close to a 300% increase over what I am currently paying for similar coverage. But, I definitely prefer getting gouged, more than I do abused, so my budget could absorb that rate. I would hope MO wouldn't cost more than Oregon, so this is an encouraging sign for me.
While I wouldn't make political predictions here about what will happen, or posturing about what I think *should* happen, I do think it's still prudent to plan for the future in a way that is prepared to handle asset-based means testing on these programs if they come.
Denver – The Colorado Division of Insurance is reviewing hundreds of proposed new health insurance plans designed to offer coverage to consumers and small businesses starting January 1, 2014. The new plans must meet certain federal requirements for benefits and premiums, as outlined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This includes health plans sold through Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s new health insurance marketplace. It opens on October 1, 2013, offering plans that begin in 2014.