Health Care notice for 2017

[rodi]

I agree on not counting on not hitting the deductible. After years of very low medical care use we switched to a HDHP w/HSA last year after our COBRA expired. My sons managed to break lots of bones in various sports injuries over the course of the year. We hit the deductible for the family and came close to max OOP.

This year, we thought, was making up for it. No broken bones. One ER visit - but it was under $1000. Then 2 weeks ago my son is dx'd with a mass (hopefully a cyst) in his jaw. He goes in for surgery today. Came out of no-where. Estimates have him blowing past the deductible and hitting the individual OOP max today.

When I was first planning I was budgeting for 1/2 of the deductible each year. I've changed the spending plans to allow for 100% of the individual and family max OOP. Life works that way.

 

[Stillninetofivin]

The following assumes you entered your income on the exchange and do not qualify for a premium subsidy. There are many exemptions from the penalty (list). The CBO estimates 80% of those without creditable coverage are exempt. A common exemption that may apply in your case is if the cheapest Bronze exchange plan is more than 8.16% (2017 figure) MAGI.

If you do not qualify for an exemption, you can use this penalty calculator: Calculate Your 2017 Obamacare Penalty | Obamacare Fine Calculator

If you are healthy, you may want to look into a non-compliant Short-Term Medical (STM) plan. The premiums are lower because they do not cover pre-existing conditions but you still owe the penalty if not otherwise exempt. If purchased before 4/1/17, the plans can last until 12/31/17 depending on the insurer and state regulations.

That is great information and I appreciate your response. So the penalty will most likely go away with the abolishment (or changes) of AHA coming soon.

DW & I are healthy 62 year olds (no pre-existing issues) so we're fortunate in that regard. The whole subsidies issue is wishy-washy due to my status as an independent contractor. Don't know what 17' holds for me as I haven't been ninetofivin for the past 5 months.

 

[ziggy29]

I'm not longer eligible for an HSA, but while I was under my last Megacorp's HDHP and maxing it out, I now have about three years of family OOP maximums at the ready. I've not had to touch it since I stopped being eligible to contribute 3.5 years ago, but having it there gives peace of mind knowing that if we have a really bad year (or three) it really won't cause any disruption or digging too deeply into the emergency fund. I'm not really planning to have it for retirement after I turn 65, but if I do, it's a bonus -- I'm not earmarking any of it for retirement income.