Here is a quick health
insurance 101 guide that will help you choose affordable health insurance
coverage. What really puts the “affordable” in Affordable Care Act? The answer
lies with the subsidies and tax credits available to many low- and
middle-income individuals and small businesses that buy health insurance
through the health insurance marketplace, be it the federal healthcare
exchange, state exchanges, or private exchanges such as TrueCoverage.
Eligibility for the
individual subsidies and small business tax credits is determined by IRS rules. Like anything produced by
the IRS, the rules are complex and subject to change. The health insurance
experts can help you navigate the rules to identify any subsidy for which you
may be eligible and educate you on health insurance basics.
Do you qualify for an individual subsidy?
Under
the ACA, the main type of individual subsidy is a premium tax
credit, which is either paid in advance to the insurer on your behalf, or which
you can claim on your federal income tax return. If you or a family member enrolled
in and paid for coverage through the health insurance marketplace for one or
more months of the year in which you are not eligible for non-marketplace
coverage, are
ineligible for Medicare or similar government
program, cannot
get affordable coverage through an eligible employer-sponsored plan that
provides minimum value as defined by the IRS, do
not file a Married Filing Separately tax return (with certain narrow
exceptions), and cannot
be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return, you
could be in line for a premium tax credit.
The
size of your premium tax credit depends on your household income, your
household size, and the cost of a benchmark plan in your area. In general,
subsidies are available to households making between 100% and 400% of the
federal poverty level, or up to $97,000 for a family of four.
Does your small business qualify for a tax credit?
If
your business has 49 or fewer employees, you are not subject to the Employer
Shared Responsibility (a/k/a the Employer Mandate). Many small businesses still
choose to offer health insurance benefits to their employees. If you have fewer
than 25 full-time equivalent employees and meet certain other conditions, you may
be eligible for a tax credit if your company contributes towards premiums on
behalf of each employee enrolled in a qualified health plan established under
the ACA.
Choose TrueCoverage for expert advice and answers
The
information above is just a brief overview of the eligibility criteria for the individual
premium and small business tax credits. Determining the specific subsidy level
for your family or small business is complicated, but the experts at
TrueCoverage make it easy. Their toll-free Subsidy Hotline (1-866-TRU-9279) is
open now to help you determine your eligibility and walk you through the
calculations to arrive at an estimate. Obamacare Open
Enrollment for 2016 is over but you may be eligible for Special Enrollment
Period (SEP), if you have experienced a qualifying life event that will allow you
to enroll in a qualified health insurance plan outside of an Open Enrollment
(OE) period.
So
take the next step in learning about health insurance basics and finding the
best coverage — and know that with TrueCoverage you don’t have to do it alone!
