ACA/OBAMACARE

November 1 to January 15 is the annual open enrollment period for individual health insurance plans on the federal marketplace. In past years, the period ran from November 1 to December 15, with some states that run their own exchanges offering an extended open enrollment period through the end of December or into January.

Find out how to get health insurance now. Or, find where to enroll in an ACA plan in your state.

Obamacare, which is a nickname for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has not been repealed and remains law. As such, individual major medical insurance policies must be guaranteed issue. All individual major medical insurance must also include the 10 essential health benefits and no-cost preventive care as specified in the ACA.

The federal tax penalty was eliminated effective Jan. 1, 2019. That means you won’t have to pay a federal tax penalty if you fail to enroll in minimum essential coverage for major medical insurance. Several states, including California, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, have implemented individual mandates that impose state tax penalties on residents who do not have health insurance.

The Affordable Care Act makes subsidies available to qualified individuals who purchase health insurance from HealthCare.gov or a state-based exchange.  

You can also obtain estimates on your potential subsidy savings (based on total household income) and premium costs while shopping using an online calculator tool. Such estimates may help you decide which major medical plan to select and help you decide whether or not to enroll in additional coverage, such as medical gap insurance or hospital indemnity insurance, which can help with out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Estimate your subsidy now.

Before looking for non-ACA coverage, you may want to investigate an exemption for the lowest-priced plan available for you. There are two types of exemptions based on, 1) affordability and; 2) hardship. You might be eligible for an affordability exemption if a health plan exceeds 7.97% of your household income. You might also qualify for a hardship exemption if you had a financial setback or another circumstance that prevented you from obtaining health insurance.

If you are concerned about your major medical insurance policy’s high deductible, you may want to consider supplemental insurance to help with out-of-pocket expenses not covered by your major medical policy. Critical illness insurance or accident insurance are two examples of supplemental insurance that might help reduce your high deductible out-of-pocket responsibility. In some states, you must already have a major medical policy in order to obtain certain forms of supplemental insurance.

Learn more about supplemental insurance.

There are many places to buy major medical insurance as well as alternative coverage that does not provide the comprehensive coverage that major medical insurance provides, including HealthCare.gov, state-based health insurance exchanges, websites such as myhealthinsurance.com, and health insurance agents. The best coverage and the right place to buy it largely depend on your personal situation.

Should you shop around or renew your current plan?

Learn where to shop by state.

Choosing health insurance coverage can definitely feel overwhelming, and the temptation can be to focus on the monthly premium rather than the big picture. To find the best health insurance plan for you, start by considering your healthcare needs and budget for the year to come. Also, be sure to consider what your healthcare expenses were in the past year and if your current coverage was adequate. Did anything change, or do you expect it to change in the coming year?    

Learn how to choose the best health insurance option for you.

There are many places to purchase ACA-compliant health insurance, alternative health insurance that does not provide comprehensive coverage such as the ten essential health benefits or cover pre-existing conditions, supplemental insurance and health insurance add-ons such as telemedicine. If you want to buy an Obamacare policy that qualifies for a subsidy, you’ll want to shop HealthCare.gov or a state-based health insurance exchange because subsidies are only available on these exchanges. There are other places to buy if you don’t qualify for a subsidy or want to explore off-exchange options.