Upcoming Health Insurance Changes

With new changes in federal healthcare legislation for 2014 and beyond, every American is required to have health coverage. If you are not covered in 2014, you could run into fines, and you’ll have to pay out of pocket for any healthcare services you use. This penalty fee is sometimes referred to as an “individual responsibility payment,” or an “individual mandate.” Working with an experienced insurance provider can help you and your family find the best coverage to help you through these ACA changes.

Health Coverage Fortuna CA Changes in 2014

If you enroll in some form of health coverage by the end of March, 2014, you will not incur any penalty fees. If you do have to pay a fee, the amount will be determined in one of two ways; either 1 percent of your household income, or 95 dollars per person. These fees will increase drastically in the following years, with the assumption that more Americans will continue to become insured after the mandate takes effect.

As long as you are enrolled by March 31, you will not have to pay this fee. You must have the minimum requirements in your coverage. Here are the types of coverage that will keep you from having to pay a fee:

• Any employer plan, which includes those which were grandfathered in and those that were not, and COBRA plans.
• Any individual coverage plan or market plan that you are currently enrolled in.
• Medicare or Medicaid
• TRICARE, which is the healthcare plan for current or previous service members.
• All veteran service member plans that you may be currently enrolled in.
• Student plans that are self-funded and offered by universities that begin before December of 2014.
• Peace Corp volunteer health coverage plans.

There are only a few plans that will not qualify as satisfactory coverage in 2014 and beyond, so if you have any of the following you will need to enroll in new coverage:

• Workers compensation
• Discount service plans
• Coverage for only vision and dental
• Coverage for only specific conditions or diseases

Making Sure You Are Covered in 2014

Contact us right away if you need help finding an insurance plan Fortuna CA that will cover you and your family during these initial ACA changes and beyond. While the penalty fees may seem somewhat manageable, remember that you will be paying the penalties in addition to your personal healthcare costs coming out of pocket. These fees also increase hugely in the next few years, becoming a potentially overwhelming cost for many families who choose not to get covered.