VanWinkle
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I appreciate your openmindedness.
I guess that we'll just agree to disagree.
+1
I appreciate your openmindedness.
I guess that we'll just agree to disagree.
Did you sign up for a silver plan that qualifies you for CSR?
If you signed up for one of these silver plans and you are getting your premiums at $40/month with no deductible. It looks like the Ambetter Balanced Care 11.
You are therefore getting the CSR and the PTC (normal premium looks to be about $877/month for a single(since your husband is on medicare he doesn't count) and I think you will be fine as long as at tax time your income comes in at what you said.
Even if your off a little you just make up the difference of your PTC and it won't amount to much at all.
No worries and next time don't use a broker it is very simple to do yourself!
Right now the interest and dividends on our money and a RMD on an inherited IRA will be at about $21,000 or less based on last year. So yes, Roth conversions would also help us get to the $24,000 mark or simply just withdrawing some money from our IRA’s.
But my concern is that they will not accept my letter of explanation on income for the subsidies or cost sharing for whatever stupid reason and I will be stuck with high premiums and no cost sharing until we file our taxes and having to lay out all that money, when I could have just stayed on my retiree medical plan and not deal with all this craziness.
Actually, I did apply myself but when it came time to get information about what documentation I needed, things went downhill from there dealing with the representatives, who's replies were robotic and non helpful.
I got frustrated and my FA kept telling me to find a navigator like they have in NY and I kept explaining that NH lost their funding for navigators. But I came upon an ex navigator who put me on a 3 way call with this broker who helps people apply and he volunteered to write the letter and submit it electronically. I was so stressed out at that point I was relieved to have someone helping me.
Very sharp of you to realize what plan I enrolled in! I hope it all works out because I just need a break until I am 65 in 2021.
SO if you got a premium quote and you have signed up. The you must have received an "eligibility notice"
It usually shows up electronically in your application process.
ON this document it has a "results " page telling you exactly how much your premium tax credit is and further down the results page your cost sharing status.
It sounds like you received both of those by picking an appropriate silver plan.
On that eligibility notice it will tell you exactly what "next steps" you need to follow, if any , for documentation they want.
If the next step listed was to enroll in a plan then you should be all set until tax time next year when you verify the income figure you used to apply.
Did you receive an "eligibility notice and did it list any next steps?
I applied directly with Ambetter on the phone and picked the plan myself, though it was the one they suggested, and I have an email confirmation for the first month's payment. I am already enrolled- they just need the documents- which, of course, they don't specify exactly what they want from me, so the broker wrote a letter of explanation regarding my income.
I thought I received an email confirmation from them regarding enrollment and also to take action regarding proof of income. Then when I called to see exactly how I could prove it since it has not occurred yet (we are only in the month of February- last year we had income- this year it is very low)- that is what set me off as no one could tell me exactly what documents to send except I could write a letter of explanation.
I have an on line account with them and everything, but it has limited info. on it. The broker said I will probably get my card next week, but it could take them until May to get to review the letter- that is what makes me nervous- that they will decide it is not adequate and raise the premium and take away the cost sharing until we can send even more documents, whatever they may be. And there will go my bank account that we are living on for everyday expenses.
Going from laying out $40 per month to $900 per month- plus coinsurance- would be a killer.
Going from laying out $40 per month to $900 per month- plus coinsurance- would be a killer.
OK. You should have signed up step by step thru Healthcare.gov. This is where you would receive the eligibility notice results and exact PTC amounts etc.
Having signed up thru ambetter it sounds like they arrived at the same premium amount that Healthcare.gov would have. (That is how I arrived at your plan and premium based on your stated $24k of income)
Since you signed up directly with Ambetter it sounds like the whole paperwork trail will just be messier.
Healthcare.gov would have told you exactly what they wanted you to provide.
If it were me I would start an application and sign up thru Healthcare.gov even now.
You will simply go to their website and hit the "get coverage" button on top of the page.
It will then ask you to create an account and it will walk you step by step thru the process.
After you have entered all your data(including your estimated 2020 income) it will tell you your PTC and cost sharing options .
It will then send you to the page with all the plans and you just need to pick the same Ambetter plan you have already agreed to.
This way you are officially in the Healthcare.gov system and have an approved plan.
It will eventually get a response telling you that you have one final step and that is to pay your first months premium with Ambetter which you have already done.
This can all be done literally in about 15 minutes.
I am so confused now. I know I originally spoke with an Ambetter rep. but maybe they transferred me to Healthcare.gov- I have no idea. All I know is after the fact- when I got the broker involved- he pulled up all my info. on whatever website and uploaded the letter so he must know what he is doing. He didn't tell me any different.
I had called the Marketplace phone number in error at one point to ask a question about billing- I should have called Ambetter, which I eventually did. But anyway, the Marketplace rep. did see my info. in her system so I should be ok I would think. I don't want to make things more complicated than they already are.
However, I have twice had to provide "proof of income" to Healthcare.Gov. The explanation I provided was accepted both times.
I sent them a letter with my plan for income. I.E. I'll be doing withdrawals for 15k in addition to DWs SS. I sent no forms or documents.Those that have had to provide proof, What exactly did you provide? I'm not asking for personal specifics, I mean did you just show past interest income, past stock returns for the year?
A side note. I am also an extreme worrier! We just did our taxes. We talked over ways with our retiring cpa of how to get our agi up to the minimum subsidy level for coverage. We're too young to do a roth so would have to do a trad and pay the penalty. He'd not seen this at all but had seen many that horrifically finagled ways to get their income down so they could get below the maximum to get a subsidy. I want what I can get legally but Noooooooo way gonna scam it!
Those that have had to provide proof, What exactly did you provide? I'm not asking for personal specifics, I mean did you just show past interest income, past stock returns for the year?
A side note. I am also an extreme worrier! We just did our taxes. We talked over ways with our retiring cpa of how to get our agi up to the minimum subsidy level for coverage. We're too young to do a roth so would have to do a trad and pay the penalty. He'd not seen this at all but had seen many that horrifically finagled ways to get their income down so they could get below the maximum to get a subsidy. I want what I can get legally but Noooooooo way gonna scam it!
Right now the interest and dividends on our money and a RMD on an inherited IRA will be at about $21,000 or less based on last year. So yes, Roth conversions would also help us get to the $24,000 mark or simply just withdrawing some money from our IRA’s.
But my concern is that they will not accept my letter of explanation on income for the subsidies or cost sharing for whatever stupid reason and I will be stuck with high premiums and no cost sharing until we file our taxes and having to lay out all that money, when I could have just stayed on my retiree medical plan and not deal with all this craziness.
My problem will be pulling this off for another 5-6 years where my wife is only 59. I'll need to stretch my cash reserves out for a while. Probably mixing cash with IRA withdrawals and be careful to not exceed the "number" and, of course, not run out of cash.
Note: Financial advisers (IMO) should advise people to save a substantial amount of after tax savings as well as pre-tax so that they can play this game when the day draws near. I understand the advantage of saving pre-tax but there should be a balance. Pay now or pay later. Especially for those that may wish to retire "early". In this case, cash, really is king.
THIS is what I keep pointing out in the "should I pay off my mortgage before retiring" threads!
I remember thinking in 2008 how much I wished I paid down my mortgage with money I put into my retirement fund. I recall thinking "if only I put all that money I lost into paying down my mortgage, I would not have lost it".
Nobody or no economic downturn can take your lack of debt away from you.