'Splain me this: ACA and second lowest silver plan cost?
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SecondCor521
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Yes it does, but your premise is dubious.
https://www.valuepenguin.com/understanding-aca-subsidies
True, your AGI and the SLCSP go into determining how much the government subsidizes you. But they subsidize you the same amount regardless of what plan you pick, so if you pick a cheaper plan, your out of pocket is less.
Made up example: Based on your AGI and SLCSP, the government determines that your subsidy is $400 per month. If you spend $500 per month on an HDHP Bronze plan, your net out of pocket is $100 per month. If you spend $1500 per month on a Gold plan, your net out of pocket is $1100 per month.
ETA: There are several ways to lower your OOP premium cost currently:
1. Lower your AGI (as long as it stays above about 100% of FPL).
2. Move to a county with a higher SLCSP.
3. Buy a cheaper insurance policy.
4. Get younger. This is hard to do.
https://www.valuepenguin.com/understanding-aca-subsidies
True, your AGI and the SLCSP go into determining how much the government subsidizes you. But they subsidize you the same amount regardless of what plan you pick, so if you pick a cheaper plan, your out of pocket is less.
Made up example: Based on your AGI and SLCSP, the government determines that your subsidy is $400 per month. If you spend $500 per month on an HDHP Bronze plan, your net out of pocket is $100 per month. If you spend $1500 per month on a Gold plan, your net out of pocket is $1100 per month.
ETA: There are several ways to lower your OOP premium cost currently:
1. Lower your AGI (as long as it stays above about 100% of FPL).
2. Move to a county with a higher SLCSP.
3. Buy a cheaper insurance policy.
4. Get younger. This is hard to do.
Last edited:
GTFan
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
138% actually. For two people that's about $22k a year.
Ian S
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
One thing to bear in mind is if your income is low enough you may qualify for a cost sharing subsidy that's separate from the premium subsidy. But the cost sharing subsidy is only available if you choose a silver plan so in that instance, your overall costs including premium and deductibles, copays, max OOP, etc. may be less on a silver plan than with a bronze plan.
Thanks GTFan! I don't live in a medicaid expanded state so I didn't dig deeper on the 133%, which, as you say, is 138% (http://www.shadac.org/news/aca-note-when-133-equals-138-fpl-calculations-affordable-care-act)
Lucky!
Only the more expensive silver plans were HSA eligible for me (i didn't look at Gold).
Too bad for me--the HSA is a nice way to lower MAGI!
scrabbler1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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My MAGI is pretty high, not much less than the maximum to get a subsidy, so my annual HC contribution (which is a percentage of the MAGI) and the SLCSP are pretty close together. While I can make a pretty good guess as to what the SLCSP will be once the 1095-A form comes out, it isn't a number I can really know for sure until it does come out. For 2016, it ended up being a little higher than my estimate, so my subsidy was a little higher than predicted. Then again, I had a large cap gain distribution at the end of 2016 which made my MAGI rise and subsidy drop. These two unexpected differences offset each other somewhat so I will end up having to repay about $60 in excess advanced premium subsidy.
