2022 ACA Exchange Experiences

[stargazer08]

Thank you for the replies.
I put on my big girl panties and finished the application. A little further in were the questions about future coverage in 2022. All is well. Application submitted and eligibility was confirmed.
I've paid the first months premium. I'll check back periodically for problems and they should email and text me as well.

 

[SecondCor521]

Thank you for the replies.
I put on my big girl panties and finished the application. A little further in were the questions about future coverage in 2022. All is well. Application submitted and eligibility was confirmed.
I've paid the first months premium. I'll check back periodically for problems and they should email and text me as well.

It's nerve-wracking the first time. Lots of stuff to figure out.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Thank you for the replies.
I put on my big girl panties and finished the application. A little further in were the questions about future coverage in 2022. All is well. Application submitted and eligibility was confirmed.
I've paid the first months premium. I'll check back periodically for problems and they should email and text me as well.

Congratulations and welcome to early retirement. Glad you figured it out. Yes, the questions about income and employment can be confusing. They really don't have an easy route of questions for someone who voluntarily retires and loses their health insurance as a results.

I will say, in the future, don't hesitate to call the exchange help line. I have had to call them 2 or 3 times through the years (both the federal exchange and my own state exchange). I have found the agents knew exactly how to answer my questions and even helped by fixing the data from their side to accomplish what I needed. I've found them very helpful and it's never been a long wait on hold either.

 

[DayDreaming]

I applied for coverage on my state exchange - GetCovered.nj.gov - and it tells me that I am deceased. How sad, there were still things I wanted to do before I died! I wish I had blown some more dough!

Their first suggestion was that I contact Social Security to correct the problem. I contacted SS and they said there is no record of me being deceased, so the problem is not there. I contacted getcovered.nj.gov and they said to just write a letter stating that I am alive, sign & date it, and upload an image of it to their website. I did that and got another notice saying that I need to provide proof, so I'm back to square one. Arrgh!

 

[RunningBum]

I applied for coverage on my state exchange - GetCovered.nj.gov - and it tells me that I am deceased. How sad, there were still things I wanted to do before I died! I wish I had blown some more dough!

Their first suggestion was that I contact Social Security to correct the problem. I contacted SS and they said there is no record of me being deceased, so the problem is not there. I contacted getcovered.nj.gov and they said to just write a letter stating that I am alive, sign & date it, and upload an image of it to their website. I did that and got another notice saying that I need to provide proof, so I'm back to square one. Arrgh!

Send them an ear.

 

[finnski1]

Send them an ear.

that would probably be appropriate in NJ.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I applied for coverage on my state exchange - GetCovered.nj.gov - and it tells me that I am deceased. How sad, there were still things I wanted to do before I died! I wish I had blown some more dough!

Their first suggestion was that I contact Social Security to correct the problem. I contacted SS and they said there is no record of me being deceased, so the problem is not there. I contacted getcovered.nj.gov and they said to just write a letter stating that I am alive, sign & date it, and upload an image of it to their website. I did that and got another notice saying that I need to provide proof, so I'm back to square one. Arrgh!

Very frustrating. Good luck. I've been trying to completely prove my mother is still alive and kicking to the IRS since 2017. Every year we endure tax return processing delays and have to get the IRS to "fix" the issue. Then the next year they kill her off again.

 

[jim584672]

I guess I can always upload the 1099s for the 2020 year I used in my income tax forms. Calling those people at the exchange is rarely helpful because they are pretty clueless, but I suppose I will have to try. How would they not have access to at least my state income tax return they can use to verify my income??

They never used to ask for verification, now they want an upload of proof. I ran into this when I reported an income change recently.

 

[scrabbler1]

They never used to ask for verification, now they want an upload of proof. I ran into this when I reported an income change recently.

When I had to reapply last December when the NY Marketplace thought I had canceled my coverage in May of 2020 (I hadn't), they wanted to see proof of income again. So, I uploaded the same documents I uploaded back in February of 2020, the ones which described how my income was going to drop a lot in 2020 after being much higher in 2019.

One little valuable thing I learned during the income verification process was that they didn't want to see Word documents with letters describing how and why my income would drop. They always got summarily rejected. However, what I did instead was to "sneak" the same text as notes onto the more easily accepted documents such as 1099s and other official documents with the investment company's letterhead shown on it. All I needed was someone who could read my notes along with the numerical data already printed on those forms. And, by some strange miracle, there WAS someone at the other end who did just that!

It is somewhat awkward to have to make a copy of a form, write notes onto it, scan it into a file, then upload that file into the NY Marketplace's website. I don't have all the equipment to perform all those tasks, so to have to go through all that again is a PITA.

 

[aaronc879]

They never used to ask for verification, now they want an upload of proof. I ran into this when I reported an income change recently.

If you are decreasing your declared income then they will want to know why. I kept mine the same as last year and the entire process from application to choosing a plan took less than 15 minutes.

 

[JakeinChina]

Now that 2022 Open Enrollment has opened, I thought I'd open up a nice, little, dedicated thread to those that want to share their experience with signing up for 2022 ACA Exchange healthcare.

I'm in Pennsylvania, so we use our own exchange called Pennie. Pennie does a nice job of assuming you want to keep the same (or equivalent) plan as you did last year if you were an existing customer, so I had already been notified a few days ago that they had done that for me. I could still make changes on or after November 1st if I wished.

I've been researching sources for the last month, so I already had an idea what the insurance companies were going to offer me and the pricing. Upon reviewing Pennie this morning, I see that my research was pretty much spot on.

If I wanted to keep my current Gold plan (from UPMC Health Plan), the unsubsidized rate increase was going to be $49 more per month. About 5.5% increase. However, if I didn't age, that same plan would only be going up by $9 -- about 1% increase. Getting old sucks.

The deductible didn't change. The max OOP went up $500. My PCP co-pays went down.

However, that plan is only an HMO. That provider does not offer a PPO in my county and still will not in 2022.

But, their competitor (Highmark BC/BS) has upped their game this year by extending their PPO plans into my county. Last year, they were not available. I much prefer the comfort of a PPO plan so that I have a better grasp on what my costs may be if I need healthcare while traveling around the country.

The BC/BS PPO is a little more expensive, but worth it to me. The co-pays are also better than the UPMC plan I was on. So this year, I will be signing up for the Gold PPO plan from BC/BS for a list price of $1022 per month. My tax credit subsidy will lower this cost significantly.

Pennie automatically carried over my income estimation from 2021. I wanted to change this, since I will likely make a few thousand less in 2022. So I had to edit my application and resubmit it. This triggered a need for me to justify my new (and lower) income. So I have uploaded my most recent tax return which, hopefully, will approve my application. This is the first time in 4 years on the ACA exchanges that I've had to provide estimated income documentation.

Anyway, all-in-all, my experience was good and as expected. Hopefully others are experiencing the same.

I'm also in Pennsylvania and applied yesterday for myself and my family of 4 thru Pennie. Wife is same age as I am, 42, and we have two young daughters. I received about $750 monthly subsidy and need to pay around $280 each month for a plan with no deductible and the rest very low cost (Highmark Blue Shield Silver plan). My kids will most likely qualify for CHIP, so the plan I applied for is only for the wifey and myself.

I declared an income of 55k as we live mostly off rental income (lots of the income if not most is tax deductible) and we will sell a home a take a cap gains hit for 2022.

 

[BubbaChris]

When we moved to Utah 9 years ago we had no idea we'd ER and use the ACA and PTCs to manage our healthcare costs until we hit 65. As an added bonus DW landed a job with the premium hospital chain in the state, who also operates a health insurance division.

Plans changed and in 2020 we made the move to ACA coverage, using an insurance broker to guide us through the process. The SLCSP was through the same insurance company and the plan had more favorable everything than DW's employer provided plan. Well, we did lose HSA as the new plan is not high-deductible. In a way I feel like we won the Zip Code lottery.

This time last year we visited the insurance broker to walk us through the application for 2021.

For 2022 I was able to use Healthcare.gov to make the adjustments to our income (removing all employers, and updating investment income), then select our plan. This year's plan is slightly better than last year, so it wasn't a tough choice. Super smooth for us.

Best regards,
Chris

 

[slowsaver]

I'm still on my employer insurance now, but I've been tracking the price of a "Bronze" level HMO in California (Kaiser) for my DH and me.

Seems the premium dropped this year from $177.40/mo last year to $61.22/mo at $60k income. The deductibles and out of pocket max have not changed.

 

[SecondCor521]

I'm still on my employer insurance now, but I've been tracking the price of a "Bronze" level HMO in California (Kaiser) for my DH and me.

Seems the premium dropped this year from $177.40/mo last year to $61.22/mo at $60k income. The deductibles and out of pocket max have not changed.

That's probably due to the increased subsidies in the ARP Act passed this spring and in effect for the next year or two.

 

[Murf2]

It went well for me. Easy sign up as I had no changes. I haven’t heard from BCBS yet & can’t remember what went on last year.

I do have a question, though.

The listed price on the exchange will all credit applied was more than 8.5% of MAGA. Does this get adjusted by the insurer or do I have an issue?

Thanks
Murf

 

[PaunchyPirate]

It went well for me. Easy sign up as I had no changes. I haven’t heard from BCBS yet & can’t remember what went on last year.

I do have a question, though.

The listed price on the exchange will all credit applied was more than 8.5% of MAGA. Does this get adjusted by the insurer or do I have an issue?

Thanks
Murf

What level of coverage did you sign up for? If you went with a higher priced Silver plan or a Gold plan, then your payments will be higher.

The 8.5% is your maximum you will pay for the second lowest cost Silver plan in your location. Your subsidy will be calculated to ensure that. If you then take that subsidy and use it on a Gold plan, you will have to pay more.

 

[Murf2]

What level of coverage did you sign up for? If you went with a higher priced Silver plan or a Gold plan, then your payments will be higher.

The 8.5% is your maximum you will pay for the second lowest cost Silver plan in your location. Your subsidy will be calculated to ensure that. If you then take that subsidy and use it on a Gold plan, you will have to pay more.

Thanks for the reply! I think I knew that at one time.[emoji846]

Kinda a bad deal though. I had to go up several plans to find one that had my doctors covered.
Still it’s a good deal overall.

Thanks again
Murf

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Thanks for the reply! I think I knew that at one time.[emoji846]

Kinda a bad deal though. I had to go up several plans to find one that had my doctors covered.
Still it’s a good deal overall.

Thanks again
Murf

I ran into that as well. If I take the 2nd lowest cost silver plan ( Blue Shield California) I will pay less than $500 for the whole year. If I choose (which I probably will) my preferred insurance company Kaiser, it will cost me close to $2000.
The SLCSP is also percentage based on your income so it's 2% or so.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Kept the same Bronze Plan HSA and was pleased to see that my premiums went up only 5%. Since this is my first year not w*rking, I estimated my income as $35K so I'll be paying much less than the full price in 2022. I'll probably ensure my MAGA is lower to get the full subsidy but I decided to be a little conservative. It was pretty darn easy for my first renewal.

 

[connor77]

Us too. Never imagined insurance would be this affordable.

Isn't it so affordable because someone else is paying for your insurance? My wife and I are about to retire but are not feeling great about having others subsidize our health insurance.

Since it seems most people on this site have enough money to retire early it sure seems probable that they could also buy their own insurance without needing others to subsidize it for them.

What am I missing or is this just the way it is in order avoid paying $2,500 a month for an off the marketplace plan?

 

[qwerty3656]

In Michigan, even if I put my income right at 133% of poverty, I would still pay over $700 a month for insurance (for 3 people) for lowest silver plan - way more than 8.5%?

Edit: Assuming anything under $30k and you are forced onto medicare.

 

[USGrant1962]

My Maryland Bronze HSA HMO went up 11.75%, unsub.

 

[Choosehappy]

Isn't it so affordable because someone else is paying for your insurance? My wife and I are about to retire but are not feeling great about having others subsidize our health insurance.

Since it seems most people on this site have enough money to retire early it sure seems probable that they could also buy their own insurance without needing others to subsidize it for them.

What am I missing or is this just the way it is in order avoid paying $2,500 a month for an off the marketplace plan?

The price of healthcare on the ACA in Arizona is ridiculously expensive. We are going to have a Silver EPO plan that’s $1550/mo. before subsidies, $1045/mo. after. We’re purposefully keeping our expenses down to take advantage of the credit. It may seem reasonable, but the out of pocket for the year is $17000. That’s crazy. This year we’re on COBRA PPO paying $1275/mo with an out of pocket of $8000. Silver PPO ACA plans start at $2300/mo.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

In Michigan, even if I put my income right at 133% of poverty, I would still pay over $700 a month for insurance (for 3 people) for lowest silver plan - way more than 8.5%?

Edit: Assuming anything under $30k and you are forced onto medicare.

What income are you inputting? Poverty level is $21,960 for a family of three this year. I get $29,280 for 133% of that (although maybe I don’t know how to calculate that correctly). So, yes, that amount would be forced to Medicare.

Using $35,000 for a fictitious 3 person family in Wayne county, Michigan, I see Silver plans as low as $9.69 per month and they have Cost Sharing enhancements to lower deductibles and copays.

 

[BubbaChris]

Isn't it so affordable because someone else is paying for your insurance? My wife and I are about to retire but are not feeling great about having others subsidize our health insurance.

Since it seems most people on this site have enough money to retire early it sure seems probable that they could also buy their own insurance without needing others to subsidize it for them.

What am I missing or is this just the way it is in order avoid paying $2,500 a month for an off the marketplace plan?

I can understand how this can be interpreted as unfair at a micro level (ACA Premium Tax Credits). I could complain about my tax dollars going towards education when we never had children and it's been well over a decade since either of us were enrolled in college level courses.

Similar arguments can also be made about how the Social Security dollars that were being deducted from my paychecks were going into the pockets of then-current retirees. I'd much rather they had been going into the equivalent of a 401k account where my contributions were effectively being held in my name. Then I wouldn't have to worry about the trust fund going empty, creating the possibility my SS payments will be reduced.

If you were on an employer sponsored health insurance plan, the amount taken out of your paycheck for insurance was a very small portion of the actual cost. The people really paying for it were those behind how your employer funded operations (e.g. their customers if they were a manufacturer or service provider).

The program for ACA Premium Tax Credits is there to be used. And since we're playing by the rules, it has allowed us to retire before a few years before we become eligible for Medicare. Without that option we could not retire yet, so please don't make assumptions about what resources "most people on this site" have available to them.

Best regards,
Chris