individual mandate
Today is the last day of February which means we are only one month away from the end of the first open enrollment period for individual health plans. March 31st is the last day that individuals can sign up for coverage without a qualifying event, but there is one big question that is still looming – Will the open enrollment period get extended to a later date?
Winter in Chicago. As the joke goes the only other season should be construction. Now that the worst of the polar vortex has passed (or we’ve grown accustomed to it) people are more expressive and passionate about two things this week: food and health care reform.
Healthcare Reform, Obamacare, Affordable Care Act, thingamajig, whatchamacallit, no matter your choice of nickname—it’s unavoidable this holiday season. Much like those ugly sweater holiday parties that force you to raid a family member’s closet or a local thrift store, your treasure hunt is now for the best, most affordable health insurance for yourself, family members, employees and/or clients.
A recent article gave insider tips on how to shop at a thrift store. A lot of these same practices apply directly to the insurance shopping experience under the new health law.
Note: All of the tips that the source article gave for shopping at a thrift store are listed within parentheses.
Here are three major Affordable Care Act (ACA) deadline changes that have made headlines recently.
1. Individuals looking for a January 1, 2014 effective date will now have until December 23, 2013 to submit an application and until December 31, 2013* to make their initial premium payment in the public exchange. Additionally, each carrier must decide how they will handle the implementation of this change outside of the public exchange.
During the holidays, when you are face-to-face with family members, even a “simple” healthcare reform question may land you in the middle of an escalated political debate. You may even be the go-to person for these questions if you are known to be up-to-date with the latest news.
Individuals are required to project their income for 2014 to determine the maximum subsidy that may be available to them through a public exchange to help reduce their insurance premiums.
If it turns out that an individual projected their income incorrectly, and the premium subsidy they received was too much, then the individual will have to pay back a portion or the entire subsidy amount when they file their federal income tax return.
The 2014 Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is just one week away and there is a lot of confusion among seniors in regards to their benefits. With all of the news and other programs focusing on driving people to the Public Exchanges that are now open for business, it is easy to understand why.
The individual mandate requirement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has everyone clamoring to find out how it applies to them so communication to senior clients is very important.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Treasury published final guidance on the Individual Shared Responsibility requirements, also known as the Individual Mandate. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that most U.S. citizens and permanent residents have a qualified health plan starting in 2014 or face financial penalties.
The House of Representatives, controlled by the Republican Party, voted earlier this month to delay the Individual Mandate by one year. It voted 251-174 in favor of delaying the requirement for most individuals to obtain health insurance until January 1, 2015.
This marks the 38th time that the House has tried to repeal or scale back the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
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