Were you successful in the ACA signup

[ziggy29]

The rules say income must be verified as a prerequisite to subsidy eligibility. For most people with W-2 income that means looking at the 2012 tax return. In your case, they have chosen to look at your actual 2013 investment income. If you feel your 2014 income will be different you must show them why in a way that can be documented.

Interesting. I was never asked for a 2012 W-2 (which is helpful in my case because our 2012 income was likely to be more than 3x our expected 2014 income). I was just asked for our current employment and income as we expected it in 2014 and never had a request for any W-2.

As an aside, I noticed this morning that my payment for January's premium has been posted to my account. So I have my card, they have my payment processed, we should be all ready to go.

 

[MRG]

I was never asked for proof of 2012 W2 or 2013 income. They did ask if either of our incomes had changed. Just a yes, no radio button. I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.
MRG

 

[cantlogin]

...

...I still don't know what my 2013 income has to do with the subsidy I will be claiming on my 2014 income tax return in April of 2015. What if my 2013 income puts me out of range of a subsidy but my 2014 income is lower and falls within the range for the subsidy? They won't try to deny my eligibility for a subsidy, will they? And the Fidelity statement's 2013 income is not going to be my 2013 AGI (or 2014 AGI), either.

It doesn't make any sense to me either.

The list of documents they would accept from me as "proof" of something that hasn't happened yet was lengthy and most of them didn't even exist for my situation. I sent them a copy of my Vanguard IRA statement which will be sufficient, by itself, to prove that I will have no income, too much income, something else, or none of those. The system seems to be satisfied with that.

 

[teejayevans]

Here in Florida, application complete, no call/invoice/email from BCBSFL, called today...expected wait time: 1:23:00-1:53:00 (that's right, expect an 1 1/2 hour wait)...and it appears there is no way to do this via web, yep, we're back in the 80s technology. Arrrgggg

 

[wolf]

Interesting. I was never asked for a 2012 W-2 (which is helpful in my case because our 2012 income was likely to be more than 3x our expected 2014 income). I was just asked for our current employment and income as we expected it in 2014 and never had a request for any W-2.

As an aside, I noticed this morning that my payment for January's premium has been posted to my account. So I have my card, they have my payment processed, we should be all ready to go.

Don't assume you are "we should be all ready to go". As mentioned in an earlier post, even though you have paid your first premium, and are covered as of Jan 1st, you still have to provide income verification.

In, Calif, the term they use is, "now you have provisional insurance"...which you will lose, unless you provide more detailed income verification. (ie. mail, fax, upload). by a certain date.

 

[TromboneAl]

Our timelines are similar, but I chose Anthem and sit here insurance-cardless, uncharged despite credit card payment, and un-Welcomed.

Same boat here.

We paid by check on Nov 5 (with proof of delivery) -- it hasn't been cashed yet.

In December, I paid it AGAIN with credit card (belt and suspenders), and got an email acknowledging that I'd submitted payment, but the card hasn't been charged yet.

When I call, they say they are going to process the payments at the end of the month.

This doesn't make any sense. By not processing the payments, they are wasting the interested they'd receive. If checks bounce, that will be a mess.

My guess is that there is some government regulation saying they can't get the money ahead of time?

I've also mailed, uploaded, AND faxed Lena's proof of citizenship to coveredca, but that hasn't been taken care of.

 

[TromboneAl]

In, Calif, the term they use is, "now you have provisional insurance"...which you will lose, unless you provide more detailed income verification. (ie. mail, fax, upload). by a certain date.

Is a copy of the tax return sufficient proof?

 

[TromboneAl]

BTW, I didn't go on a bike ride today, because crashing today could cost thousands -- crashing tomorrow would be much cheaper.

 

[ziggy29]

Don't assume you are "we should be all ready to go". As mentioned in an earlier post, even though you have paid your first premium, and are covered as of Jan 1st, you still have to provide income verification.

I said *should* be ready to go.

Worst case it only means they'd say I can't get an upfront subsidy because of 2012 income. I'm still covered. Worst case, they say I'm not eligible for assistance with the premiums because of 2012 income, but I'll get the tax credit when I file my tax return in early 2015 based on actual 2014 income. Not ideal, but not a showstopper or deal breaker.

 

[ziggy29]

Here in Florida, application complete, no call/invoice/email from BCBSFL, called today...expected wait time: 1:23:00-1:53:00 (that's right, expect an 1 1/2 hour wait)...and it appears there is no way to do this via web, yep, we're back in the 80s technology. Arrrgggg

Try bringing this up on social media. I did this with BCBSTX and they asked me to send them a PM with my phone number, and the next day I had an escalations/accounts specialist who gave me her direct number to work with (i.e. no waiting an hour or more on hold, either I got her immediately or I left a message and she'd call back). Made a big difference in my case, IMO.

 

[MRG]

Don't assume you are "we should be all ready to go". As mentioned in an earlier post, even though you have paid your first premium, and are covered as of Jan 1st, you still have to provide income verification.

In, Calif, the term they use is, "now you have provisional insurance"...which you will lose, unless you provide more detailed income verification. (ie. mail, fax, upload). by a certain date.

Sorry for my silly question, appreciate any input.

How can I provide information that was never requested? To whom? I was never asked for proof, other then did my income change? Yes. Healthcare.gov says I'm good(eligibility notice), BCBS gave me cards, says I'm insured as of 1/1/14.

What am I missing? Who are 'they'? What do 'they' want? How do I contact 'them'?

Thanks in advance,
MRG

 

[Refresher]

Sorry for my silly question, appreciate any input. How can I provide information that was never requested? To whom? I was never asked for proof, other then did my income change? Yes. Healthcare.gov says I'm good(eligibility notice), BCBS gave me cards, says I'm insured as of 1/1/14. What am I missing? Who are 'they'? What do 'they' want? How do I contact 'them'? Thanks in advance, MRG

Go to your pharmacy tomorrow and ask for a prescription refill. May be an indicator of whether you new policy is in effect.
Maybe make an MD appointment this week.

 

[aja8888]

My daughter, who completed an ACA application, paid her first payment with BCBSTX, and received her cards, was never asked to provide income verification.

 

[rbmrtn]

NY and CA are state exchanges and may be different in how they implement things versus the Fed exchange. Here is the CMS document on verification requirements

http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/Downloads/income-verification-8-5-2013.pdf

They would ask for additional documents if things don't match the data they have ( tax returns, experian etc ) and if there is not a reasonable explanation for the difference ( I retired ).

 

[MRG]

Thanks to all. I was hoping it was a state difference. By chance I do have a DR appointment Thursday. I just don't want any more surprises now.

Haven't officially canceled COBRA yet, plan B.
Thanks,
MRG

 

[ziggy29]

They would ask for additional documents if things don't match the data they have ( tax returns, experian etc ) and if there is not a reasonable explanation for the difference ( I retired ).

I think they also look at more recent Social Security earnings history where available. Perhaps that explains some of it. My 2012 income was far too high for any kind of subsidy, but I hadn't been pulling that regular paycheck since the first week of April 2013 (so maybe they assumed that was no longer in play). They knew about my postal gig and estimated I was earning about $200 a month on it. So I think they were using SS payments as the basis. They didn't have the records at all for my wife's ministerial income, but the treasurer there manually writes quarterly checks to the IRS for that, so maybe their computers didn't have it at the ready -- I had to enter that employer and income manually.

 

[Sue J]

BTW, I didn't go on a bike ride today, because crashing today could cost thousands -- crashing tomorrow would be much cheaper.

When my son got enrolled and paid his bill I told him that after 1/1/14 he could shoot a BB gun and run with scissors.

Have a safe and healthy 2014, Al.

 

[ziggy29]

When my son got enrolled and paid his bill I told him that after 1/1/14 he could shoot a BB gun and run with scissors.

Ah, so when some kid complains to his mother that "so and so's mom is cool, she lets so-and-so do X, Y and Z".... you're that mom?

 

[fisherman]

I am still in shock that I can finally post this and how close it was. I got the package in the mail from BCBS today. We have our new policy! Premium is paid and cards are in hand. Old insurance is cancelled as of 11:59PM tonight and new starts at 12AM 1-1-14.

It only took 77 hours total to make it happen but it is done as of 4PM local time on 12-31-13. Talk about close.

New premiums are $230 a month less. Deductible is $0 and OOP max is $2900 for the family. Previous deductible and OOP max were $10K. Kids really help on the subsidy calculation.

The amazing part is how much more is covered. Even the kids dental and vision is covered.

I had checked last month when I first selected the policy and all docs, dentists, and close hospitals are in network. We actually have more Dr to choose from than before.

Halleluiah!!!

 

[MRG]

Ziggy29,
The SS data makes a lot of sense. My last contribute to SS was 4/30/13. After that 0. 'They' knew who I was from Experion.
Thank you, I'll go obsess about something else.

MRG

 

[scrabbler1]

NY and CA are state exchanges and may be different in how they implement things versus the Fed exchange. Here is the CMS document on verification requirements

http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/Downloads/income-verification-8-5-2013.pdf

They would ask for additional documents if things don't match the data they have ( tax returns, experian etc ) and if there is not a reasonable explanation for the difference ( I retired ).

I wonder, too, if the reason is I am applying through a state (NY) exchange. That being said, I have not found any place in the document upload section for me to include an explanation. When I include the December 2013 Fidelity statement, it will show a December "spike" in my investment income due to some fairly large cap gain distributions which will not necessarily repeat in 2014. I do not assume the flunkies who read the Fido statement will realize that and give me a hard time with the 2014 subsidy. All I want is the chance to file for a subsidy with my 2014 return using my actual year-end 2014 income.

 

[rbmrtn]

I wonder, too, if the reason is I am applying through a state (NY) exchange. That being said, I have not found any place in the document upload section for me to include an explanation. When I include the December 2013 Fidelity statement, it will show a December "spike" in my investment income due to some fairly large cap gain distributions which will not necessarily repeat in 2014. I do not assume the flunkies who read the Fido statement will realize that and give me a hard time with the 2014 subsidy. All I want is the chance to file for a subsidy with my 2014 return using my actual year-end 2014 income.

Maybe upload your explanation in word document or scanned image. The state run exchanges are all running different software, so that may be the issue.

I think the income verification part is mainly for getting the advance subsidy. Since you are going file against actual 2014 income for a refund it shouldn't make any difference. Here's a link to the IRS info on the tax credit The Premium Tax Credit

 

[scrabbler1]

Maybe upload your explanation in word document or scanned image. The state run exchanges are all running different software, so that may be the issue.

I think the income verification part is mainly for getting the advance subsidy. Since you are going file against actual 2014 income for a refund it shouldn't make any difference. Here's a link to the IRS info on the tax credit The Premium Tax Credit

The IRS page you referenced was one I viewed a few months ago when I stated in another thread how I planned to claim the subsidy later instead of having it apply to my monthly payments. And because the subsidy is federal, not state, I still did not see why I had to provide any income verification with the application to the NY Marketplace. The only income which will eventually matter is what I post in my 2014 federal income tax return, income which will be verified, where possible, by the data my investment companies provide to the IRS. I mean, these annual Fido statements will not include any capital losses, for example, resulting from the sales of any investments in 2014. If I end up being ineligible for a federal subsidy because I have unforeseen income spikes in 2014, then that alone will be the determinant, not anything I send to the NY Marketplace in December of 2013.

 

[Sue J]

30 minutes into 2014 and I've looked into our insurers member site and I can see everything I need to see for our new insurance. We are both listed as insured and the card only shows DHs name so I guess I don't get one with my own name. That's fine.

There's a link to our prescription plan and I checked that out, too.

Looks like we are good to go. Next step is opening the HSA and setting up funding. The plan is to cash flow our regular expected office visits, blood work and Rxs and not touch the HSA unless we need to.

Good luck to everyone that went through this process. We've certainly learned a lot, haven't we?

 

[shotgunner]

My application in Healthcare was "complete" on mid November. Anthem BC/BS was the only provider for NH and NH residents were not able to make a payment even after being approved and selecting a plan. This changed in mid December.

I have been in direct phone and e-mail contact with a woman at Anthem BC/BS. She confirmed I was in their system and confirmed by subsidy amount. She gave me the information to sign up in Anthem's secure e-mail system. She gave me a number that allowed me to go into their website and make payment.

I have made the payment and she confirmed it was done, HOWEVER, I have not seen a debit against my bank account yet. She said that will be coming soon and my welcome package and ID card will be mailed shortly after.

Since it is now 1/1/14 and I don't have an ID card I am not sure what I would do if I needed to go to the hospital or the doctor other than to let Anthem and provider figure it out. Hopefully I will see my ID card and debit soon and my renewal next year to go more smoothly. What a time consuming and frustrating process it has been.