Many of you may be unaware that you don't necessarily need to use this site in order to apply for individual health insurance. Certainly no one that has a job relevant to IBM-MAIN needs to use it.
You only need to use HealthCare.gov if: A) You think you qualify for a subsidy (income less than 400% of FPL) and your state does not have its own exchange, or B) Your income is so low that you qualify for free Medicaid and your state does not have its own exchange. If you are like me and don't qualify for Medicaid or a Subsidy, you have these options: C) Use your state's own exchange to apply, if your state has one (most Blue States have done this), or D) Go to your state's Insurance Commissioner Web Site and research what plans are offered and what prices apply to your age, location, gender, and tobacco status. Then contact the Insurance Company of your choice directly to apply. Note that many insurance companies offer both exchange and non-exchange plans. A non-exchange plan still needs to meet all the requirements of the ACA "Metal" plans: Bronze-Silver-Gold. But a non-exchange plan is not eligible for a subsidy. Since the Insurance Company does not need to bother with all the red-tape for the government subsidy, non-exchange plans are often cheaper than exchange plans. If you purchase a non-exchange "Metal" plan, you meet the requirements of ACA and are not subject to the Individual Mandate Penalty. Also, if you are on Medicare you are already covered and can ignore HealthCare.gov and its issues. John ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
