Are you sticking with Silver Plan for 2021? My agent in 2017 this was the best option and it has worked out fine ever since/
I've never had a silver plan so your question doesn't apply, but just because a plan was best in 2017 doesn't mean it's best any other year. And it doesn't matter what anyone else is doing, because plans can be so different from state to state, city to city, even between zip codes. And someone who rarely needs to see a doctor has different needs from someone with an ongoing condition.
Marketplace says I may be paying considerably more next year if I don't switch plans.
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "Marketplace", but switch if it'll cost you more. Have you really evaluated it yourself?
I haven't got my MAGI calculated and am afraid to log in until I'm ready.
In 2018 I still have a "pending" message not "complete" for my application. It didn't effect anything but don't want trouble.
I don't understand what you are afraid of. I don't know why 2018 is pending but that's past. What kind of trouble do you think you'll have? If anything, a pending message from another year would motivate me to get my 2021 application started and done with rather than putting it off.
MAGI only affects the decision in a couple of ways. If you have low enough income, you may qualify for cost sharing, which makes a silver plan a lot better. I'm not able to get my income that low, so I've never looked into quantifying this benefit.
If you have a large enough subsidy to make some plans have $0 premiums, you might look at a plan with better benefits to fully use your subsidy. Otherwise, all plans are lowered by the same subsidy amount so the subsidy isn't a factor when comparing plans.
You probably want to get your MAGI close so you aren't too far off on your subsidy come 2021 tax time, but what are you going to learn about 2021 income between now and December 15? Get started!
Each year I put together a spreadsheet and figure out the overall cost at various levels of medical expenses, with no bias toward my current year plan. I also check to see which plans my preferred doctors are in. I did have one year where those plans were $800/month more so I went with the cheaper premiums and just paid out of network for my doctors. I factor in HSA, and try to factor in how much I pay for drugs and coinsurance after deductible for each plan, but that's not easy to quantify. It's usually pretty easy to throw out most plans and then it's between a bronze HSA plan vs a gold or silver plan with lower deductible.
Last year an HSA contribution was needed to keep my income below the subsidy level, but this year I should have fewer dividends. Still, a bronze HSA plan worked out best for me.
