ACA vs. Cobra, 8.5% Cap?

[SeanPizzle]

Recently retired in August and have been on COBRA so far. ACA/Covered CA open enrollment for 2023 is now. When looking at plans and estimating our utilization (54M, 53F, 19M), the price seems the about the same between COBRA and ACA PPO plans. I know the 8.5% MAGI cap was extended for three more years. My question is do I need to be on an ACA plan for this 8.5% rule to apply? Or can we calculate the payments from COBRA?

 

[erkevin]

Has to be a plan from the ACA. Will not apply to your COBRA

 

[orchid55]

When we were deciding between COBRA and ACA policies, a huge issue was the network. COBRA was a nationwide PPO and most of the ACA policies were narrower HMOs or PPOs that were not nationwide.