Preview of 2018 ACA plans is LIVE

[UnrealizedPotential]

I found an HSA eligible plan that the max out of pocket and deductible are the same. I am healthy, so don't mind the high deductible and max out of pocket ,$6650. The $6650 is a high barrier, but if I get really sick, there is good coverage once that is paid.

 

[sheehs1]

Reporting from Virginia. Since I had not received a renewal notice from Anthem, I got on their site and my anthem account to check out 2018 plans and rates. 10 plans available but only 1 with an HSA. Same plans are on healthsherpa.com.

Wow...a whopping 44% increase in premiums for my plan if I want to stay with Bronze with an HSA. The cheapest equates to a 36% increase but doesn't have an HSA. Cheapest for my age is $933/mth.(44% increase and non HSA). The Bronze with HSA is $977/mth. During 2017 I paid $680/mth.

Age 62, don't qualify for a subsidy and don't have access to employer based insurance.

Optima rates aren't any better given age and lack of subsidy.

So I called Anthem to confirm and was told Anthem has not mailed renewal notices to some of us here in Va. and won't until mid-November. Oh..and yes they confirmed the rates. ugh!

 

[pb4uski]

I consider a Roth a post tax investment. But you do highlight a good point for clarification on investment option with tax benefits.

I consider a Roth to be a tax-free investment.... not a post tax (or taxable)
investment. In the Roth, all investment results (interest, qualified or non-qualified dividends, capital gains) are tax free.

In a taxable account, qualified dividends and long-term capital gains can be tax free if you are in the 15% tax bracket (or lower) but interest, non-qualified dividends and short-term capital gains are taxed at ordinary rates.

 

[MichaelB]

Reporting from Virginia. Since I had not received a renewal notice from Anthem, I got on their site and my anthem account to check out 2018 plans and rates. 10 plans available but only 1 with an HSA. Same plans are on healthsherpa.com.

Wow...a whopping 44% increase in premiums for my plan if I want to stay with Bronze with an HSA. The cheapest equates to a 36% increase but doesn't have an HSA. Cheapest for my age is $933/mth.(44% increase and non HSA). The Bronze with HSA is $977/mth. During 2017 I paid $680/mth.

Age 62, don't qualify for a subsidy and don't have access to employer based insurance.

Optima rates aren't any better given age and lack of subsidy.

So I called Anthem to confirm and was told Anthem has not mailed renewal notices to some of us here in Va. and won't until mid-November. Oh..and yes they confirmed the rates. ugh!

That's a harsh increase.

 

[Henry Lili]

Just received my letter today. Increase is "only" 12.7% next year. Last three years have been between 22% and 28% so this almost feels like a relief. Of course, it still amounts to $525 per month for a Silver plan with a $1,500 deductible. Dropping to Bronze would only save $80 per month and drive the deductible up to roughly $7,000.

 

[UtahSkier]

Article discussing $0 premium Bronze plans

Obamacare curveball: Free insurance in 1,500-plus counties

In an odd twist, low-income people in about half of U.S. counties will now be able to get a taxpayer-subsidized Obamacare policy for free.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/hea...counties/ar-AAuf60L?li=AA4Zjn&ocid=spartanntp

 

[sheehs1]

That's a harsh increase.

It is. I reported the 44% increase wrong in my post. It went with the $977/mth price...not the $923/mth price. Either way, its still a huge increase.

On my call, Anthem said they originally were pulling out of some areas of Virginia if not all. Mine was one of them. I seem to recall news reports to that affect. They then decided to go back in albeit with larger price tags. I expect a lot of noise here in Virginia over this.

 

[BeachOrCity]

The subsidy credit is not a refundable tax credit but maybe he's talking about the tax refund for reduced income from the HSA contribution.

You sure about that?

I can think of many ptc situations where the subsidy is more than the federal taxes owed

 

[bobandsherry]

I consider a Roth to be a tax-free investment.... not a post tax (or taxable)
investment. In the Roth, all investment results (interest, qualified or non-qualified dividends, capital gains) are tax free.

In a taxable account, qualified dividends and long-term capital gains can be tax free if you are in the 15% tax bracket (or lower) but interest, non-qualified dividends and short-term capital gains are taxed at ordinary rates.

You are confusing "tax free" with "post tax" (or also after tax).

 

[Sue J]

You sure about that?

I can think of many ptc situations where the subsidy is more than the federal taxes owed

Ah....good point.

Maybe I didn't state that well. You won't get back more than you paid for your insurance premium. But yes, I see where that can be larger than your tax liability. It's like there are two tax returns, one for the PTC and the other for your regular Fed income taxes.

Thanks for catching that.

Darn this tax system is complicated!

 

[pb4uski]

You are confusing "tax free" with "post tax" (or also after tax).

No... WADR it is you who is confused.

Pre-tax and post-tax refer to the tax status of contributions... traditional 401ks are pre-tax contributions because contributions are made before taxes are withheld.... and post-tax contributions are contributions of after-tax money.... like to Roth 401ks or to Roth IRAs. In any event, those terms refer to the tax status of contributions to the accounts.

Taxable, tax-deferred and tax-free refer to the tax status of earnings in those accounts. Roth contributions are indeed post tax but Roth's are tax-free accounts.

Investors often have accounts that fall into three different categories of tax treatment:

Tax-free accounts (Roth IRA or Roth 401(k))
Taxable accounts (brokerage account)
Tax-deferred accounts (401(k), traditional IRA, or 403(b))

emphasis added

I think what RunningBum was suggesting is that it would be better to transfer money from tax-deferred to tax-free rather than from tax-deferred to taxable as you said that you intended to do... and I would agree with what he said unless you need that money for expenses since tax-free is better than taxable.

 

[FreeBear]

Just got paperwork in the mail. Can stick with current carrier, but deductible & OOP go up several hundred dollars and premiums go up 15 to 18%. Will research more later, but I don't think we'll get much better.

Honestly, I'm relieved the increase wasn't worse or had the insurance company abandon the area entirely. Will do more research on healthcare.gov, I can live with this if needed.

It's scary when an 18% increase is greeted with relief.

 

[GTFan]

The agents prices are the same a HC.gov. I always double check them. She uses an agent portal though and seems to get more info on the CSR's than I get when I look. So to me it is a no brainer to let her do it.

Except she gave you wrong info about CSR'd Silver plans...

Honestly, if you're smart enough to come here and do your own research for investments etc., why do you need an agent for health insurance on the exchange? It's not that complicated, even more so now that the choices are so limited.

 

[bobandsherry]

I consider a Roth a post tax investment.

No... WADR it is you who is confused.

Taxable, tax-deferred and tax-free refer to the tax status of earnings in those accounts. Roth contributions are indeed post tax but Roth's are tax-free accounts.

You've totally got me confused as to what your point is. My original comment (above) was in regards to contribution and your statement (in bold above) says the same thing I did. I guess all is good. Enjoy the day.

 

[karen1972]

So I hope I understand tax law correctly..

HSA eligible plan is basically Zero premium vs $205 for cheapest silver plan. So that gives me $2400 of health care to use to be "equal".

I can put that $2400 into the HSA from taxable accounts (but I don't pay taxes because its all qualified dividends/LTCG), however I can roll over an additional $2400 into my rIRA and basically they cancel each other out.

So basically the HSA plan allows me to rollover more money tax free into my rIRA PLUS add tax free money to my HSA, so then I'd have $4800 in tax free money with no taxes paid.

Does that seem right? because I played with turbotax and that seemed to be what happened.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Except she gave you wrong info about CSR'd Silver plans...

Honestly, if you're smart enough to come here and do your own research for investments etc., why do you need an agent for health insurance on the exchange? It's not that complicated, even more so now that the choices are so limited.

Because she had info I did not 3 years in a row and got me a better deal at no extra costs. The CSRs were never shown to me on the exchange but she got them every year. That is why.

 

[ivinsfan]

Basically, but the devil is in the details, such as lower deductible and co-pays and less out of pocket exposure. And you will eventually pay taxes on that IRA contribution. So why would you roll tax free money into something that would be taxable.

 

[ripper1]

Just found it this morning.

https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/

Haven't gotten anything in the mail yet from my current obamacare plan provider. But if this is right it looks like my 1000 dollar premium is going to at least 1500. [mod edit]

 

[ivinsfan]

Haven't gotten anything in the mail yet from my current obamacare plan provider. But if this is right it looks like my 1000 dollar premium is going to at least 1500. [mod edit]

Sign up is going live tomorrow please follow forum guidelines so this thread doesn't get locked

 

[easysurfer]

I haven't received the letter yet from BCBS about a possible replacement since my last year's plan is gone 2018. But BCBS is already nudging me to a newer plan as I signed onto BCBS last night to check on a current claim and got a message saying I have a future 2018 plan.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Ah....good point.

Maybe I didn't state that well. You won't get back more than you paid for your insurance premium. But yes, I see where that can be larger than your tax liability. It's like there are two tax returns, one for the PTC and the other for your regular Fed income taxes.

Thanks for catching that.

Darn this tax system is complicated!

FWIW, the IRS describes the PTC as "refundable." https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/individuals-and-families/questions-and-answers-on-the-premium-tax-credit

I'm not sure exactly what that means in IRS-speak, but I went back for a look at our 2016 tax form (we used Tax Act software) and found that our refund for the year came from computations on Form 8962, using numbers we received from our Form 1095a. So we received additional money from the premium tax credit above and beyond that which we got to reduce our monthly insurance premium over the course of the year. Our insurance choice for the year was a HDHP with HSA eligibility.

A large portion of our MAGI comes from tax-exempt muni bond interest -- I'm not sure if that was a factor. Tax law is black magic to me.

If the IRS comes calling and wants their money back, I'll update this thread.

 

[USGrant1962]

FWIW, the IRS describes the PTC as "refundable." https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/individuals-and-families/questions-and-answers-on-the-premium-tax-credit

I think the answer is in question 19 of the link. It is "refundable" in terms of income taxes because it can be higher than your tax liability, but if the SLCSP-derived tax credit is higher than your premium you don't get a "refund" of the excess.

19. How is the amount of the premium tax credit computed?

The amount of the premium tax credit is generally equal to the premium for the second lowest cost silver plan available through the Marketplace that applies to the members of your family who are enrolled in coverage through the Marketplace and not eligible for other, non-Marketplace coverage such as government coverage or affordable employer-sponsored coverage, minus a certain percentage of your household income. However, the credit cannot be more than the premiums for the Marketplace plan or plans you or your family enrolls in (your enrollment premiums).​

 

[bobandsherry]

Do husband and wife need to buy the same plan on ACA? Asking as in my case, my wife has need for higher level of coverage due to some health conditions. If so, how is MAGI estimated for each for cost sharing and subsidy?

 

[audreyh1]

I haven't received the letter yet from BCBS about a possible replacement since my last year's plan is gone 2018. But BCBS is already nudging me to a newer plan as I signed onto BCBS last night to check on a current claim and got a message saying I have a future 2018 plan.

Waiting for my letter too.

 

[Sue J]

I tried to go back and edit my post about the PTC being a non-refundable tax credit, but it's too late to change it. Clearly, I was incorrect. Maybe a mod can fix that.

Do husband and wife need to buy the same plan on ACA? Asking as in my case, my wife has need for higher level of coverage due to some health conditions. If so, how is MAGI estimated for each for cost sharing and subsidy?

Spouses CAN buy different plans. You apply as a married couple, using your combined income. The subsidy is calculated for you as a couple. Then, before you get to the part where you pick plans there is an option for GROUPS. Put one of you in a group, put the other spouse in a second group.

The result is that you each get half of your joint subsidy, to be applied to the plan that you each select. That's how it was done for the last few years.