More than 14.5 million people in The United States get their health insurance through the Marketplace health insurance (sometimes called Obamacare), and more than 2.7 million of them live here in Florida. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) that created the marketplace was passed more than 10 years ago, but there have been some recent changes that might surprise you.
Here are six things you might not know about Marketplace health insurance: 1. You have up 15. January registered mail. The open registration period for the marketplace is Nov 1 until 15. Januarygiving you almost 11 weeks to sign up for a new health plan or switch your current one for 2022. However, if you want your insurance to come into effect January 1styou still need to sign up for a plan 15th December. If you miss that December deadline, your health plan is only beginning to protect you February 1st. 2. If you’ve been told you’re making too much money, look again. In 2021, the federal government raised the income limit to receive financial aid to lower your monthly insurance premiums. It used to be that you had to be below 400 percent of the poverty line to qualify for assistance (that was $106, 000 for a family of four). Now you can find a health insurance plan that is no more than 8.5 percent of your household income. What does that mean? Parents in their 40s with two teenagers can reconcile $182700 a year and still getting help lowering their monthly insurance bill.
3. More working families are now eligible for financial assistance. If your job offers health insurance coverage but your family doesn’t because it costs more than you can afford, help is available. Your family may now be eligible for an ACA financial assistance plan. A typical family of four in Florida with an income of $53000 could store more than $5. 000. Find out if you are one of more than 269,000 people Florida who qualify.
4. Early retirees can make big savings. The new rule, which caps your health insurance costs at 8.5 percent for a basic plan, has tremendous benefits for early retirees and other older adults who don’t yet qualify for Medicare. Older adults often face higher health insurance prices, but the 2021 changes are helping to address that. A 60-year-old couple had to do less than before $69, 680 annually to qualify for help paying their insurance costs. Now her annual income can be up to $237300 and they still qualify for support.
5. Hundreds of thousands of people in Florida miss $0 Health insurance bills. Received a bill saying you owe something $0 may sound too good to be true, but it’s really happening. The federal government increased financial support to help people pay for health insurance. In fact, four out of five people qualified for a paid Marketplace plan $10 or less each month in 2022, pursuant to the US Department of Health and Human Services. And the state’s leading health insurer, Florida Blue, estimates that more than 174,000 people are still uninsured despite qualifying for a $0 marketplace plan.
6. Receiving a Marketplace subsidy does not affect your immigration status. Financial assistance for health insurance (also called a grant) isn’t just for US Citizens. Many lawfully present immigrants are eligible for help paying for insurance through the Marketplace, including green card holders and those on work or student visas. And receiving this financial help will not negatively affect your immigration status and process due to the abolished public fee regulations March 2021.
If you have questions about how health insurance works or where to find help signing up for the plan, visit GetCoveredFlorida.com.
