Obamacare

The Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare”, was developed to help individuals access affordable health insurance through a health insurance marketplace where Americans can purchase federally regulated and subsidized health insurance during open enrollment.

In order to qualify, you must sign up during Open Enrollment but could still be eligible if you had a qualifying life event such as changing jobs, getting married/divorced, moving, etc. We’ll help determine if you are eligible and find you the best plan in any case.

Finding the right plan can be difficult. Each plan has its pros and cons, especially considering how costs can greatly range - depending on the plan's deductibles, co-pays, premiums, provider networks, to name a few.

ObamaCare-Plans.com works with dozens of health insurance carriers and brokers, making it easy for you to compare several health insurance options. To get started, enter your zip code and tell us about yourself. If qualified for an Affordable Care Act health plan, you can work with all of the health carriers listed to compare plans and prices. Once you provide us with the information required on our form, we attempt to match you with appropriate insurance agents, brokers, carriers or other service providers to help you acquire the best health insurance.

ACA News Federal government extends Individual 2016 reporting deadline

ACA News: Federal government extends Individual 2016 reporting deadline

December 12, 2016

The federal government has extended the Affordable Care Act (ACA or health care reform law) reporting deadline to give employers more time to meet the requirements.

Previously, employers who provided self-funded coverage had until the end of January 2017 to send a statement —tax form 1095-C — with parts l, ll and lll completed – to all employees eligible for coverage in 2016. With the extension, employers now have until March 2 to get this information to their workers.

The extension also applies to health insurance companies facing similar reporting requirements. So for fully insured groups, Anthem plans to begin sending out tax form 1095-B as originally scheduled, with the goal of having all forms mailed by the end of February.

Impact on individual taxpayers 
In some cases, taxpayers may not receive a Form 1095-B or Form 1095-C by the time they are ready to file their 2016 tax returns. Under these circumstances, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will accept other forms of documentation for proof of insurance coverage, including:

• Insurance cards
• Explanation of benefits
• W-2 or payroll statements reflecting insurance deductions
• Records or advance payments of the premium tax credit and other statements indicating that the taxpayer or a member of his or her family, had health benefits

Individual taxpayers will not need to send the IRS proof of health coverage. However, any documentation should be kept with other tax records.

Why reporting is required
The purpose of health law reporting is to show the IRS that affordable coverage was offered to employees. It also shows which employees and dependents are covered, and for how many months out of the year. As you know, the ACA requires all Americans to have health care coverage or face a penalty. The IRS helps enforce this part of the law. To do so, it requires certain tax forms as proof of coverage.

The IRS can also use these forms to track who does or doesn’t have coverage, what companies are or aren’t offering coverage to workers, and levy penalties accordingly. These forms became mandatory with the 2015 tax year. And reporting is required in 2017 for the 2016 coverage year.

More about this can be found within the IRS web site.  You can also refer to our Employer Mandate Fact Sheet and our Minimum Essential Coverage Fact Sheet on reporting.

Colorado Important Dates & Open Enrooment

We’re almost halfway through and every measure points to our most successful Open Enrollment ever. That’s not to minimize the challenges we currently face in the public policy arena. There will be debates at the state and federal level on the future of exchanges and healthcare reform. As a state-based Marketplace formed to provide a “Colorado solution,” we will be keeping an eye on both levels and we take note that some of the talk in Congress now suggests turning more authority over to state governments.

This process can be expected to take time but the shape of policy changes should start to become clearer when state and federal legislative bodies begin meeting. Here are some dates you might want to be aware of:

• Congress reconvenes Jan 3, 2017.
• The Colorado Legislature begins work Jan. 11, 2017.
• The president is inaugurated Jan. 20, 2017.
• Health insurance companies in Colorado normally file their 2018 individual and small group plans and rates in May for the following year.

Repeal the Affordable Care Act Dec. 2016

The nation’s health insurers, resigned to the idea that Republicans will repeal the Affordable Care Act, on Tuesday publicly outlined for the first time what the industry wants to stay in the state marketplaces, which have provided millions of Americans with insurance under the law.

The insurers, some which have already started leaving the marketplaces because they are losing money, say they need a clear commitment from the Trump administration and congressional leaders that the government will continue offsetting some costs for low-income people. They also want to keep in place rules that encourage young and healthy people to sign up, which the insurers say are crucial to a stable market for individual buyers.

The demands are a sort of warning shot to Republicans. While the party is eager to repeal the law as quickly as possible, and many have promised a replacement, its members are sharply divided over what shape any new plan should take. If they do not come up with an alternative, more than 22 million people would be left uninsured, including the more than 10 million who have bought individual plans on state marketplaces.

On Tuesday, Marilyn Tavenner, the chief executive of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a leading industry trade group, warned that the state marketplaces were already on unstable financial footing. Failing to continue the funding aimed at low-income Americans, she said, would have far-reaching consequences because the business would become much tougher for insurers.

Dec 15th 2017 deadline for Jan 1st effective date

Hello, Happy Holidays and I hope you enjoy spending time with your family and friends.

If you have questions regarding open enrollment which ends January 31st or if you need help finding a new plan, please call or email. 

Those eligible for renewal will be automatically enrolled in their plan and tax credit if no changes are made by the customer OR last day for those not eligible for an auto renewal to choose a plan for January 1, 2017 coverage deadline is December 15th, 2016 

Qualifying Life Event

Qualifying Life Event  In order to purchase individual & family health insurance (major medical), you must enroll during the annual open enrollment period (for 2017, open enrollment begins 11/1/16 and ends 1/31/17).  The only exception on or off of the exchange is for those who experience a Qualifying Life Event (QLE).  QLE allows enrollment within 60 days of the event.  For example, if you had loss of coverage at your job, married, moved to Colorado, divorce, birth, Income change, etc. Call me for more examples!

New to Medicare?

New to Medicare?  If you are new to Medicare (turning 65 or new to Part B over 65) some carriers offer premium discounts for the first year on their Medicare Supplement Plan F.  These discounts do not appear in the online quoting so be sure to contact me for information on New to Medicare discounts from Colorado carriers.  These discounts are for those 65 and older, not for those under 65

HCC Short Term Insurance

Short-Term Health plans are available in Colorado by HCC Tokio Marine.  These plans are intended to be used as interim coverage for gaps in compliant group or individual health insurance.  They are available in 6-month terms,are subject to medical underwriting and generally exclude pre-existing conditions.  

The Future of Your Healthcare

With the 2016 election season over, we know you may have questions about the future of your healthcare. We remain as dedicated as ever to our mission of increasing access, affordability, and choice for individuals in Colorado.

Here's what we know so far:

• The law is still in effect, so coverage options haven't changed or ended.
• Free, in-person help with choosing the best plan is still available.
• Having health insurance is as important as ever to your health and financial security.
• Broken bones, disease, and other chronic conditions can happen no matter who is in office. And, in some cases, these things are preventable if you have access to care and health insurance.

Almost 20,000 Coloradans have already decided to continue coverage into 2017.

Did you know?

• 168,000 residents have health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado – 102,000 with financial assistance to help them afford their coverage.
• The uninsured rate of 6.7% is the lowest in our state’s history and one of the lowest in the country.

Customers like you should complete your enrollment by December 15th, 2016 to ensure you have coverage in 2017.

There has been a lot of talk about the future of the healthcare in our country since the election.

There are a few things we should keep in mind:

• 168,000 Colorado residents have healthcare coverage through Connect for Health Colorado.
• 102,000 are getting tax credits to help them afford their coverage.
• Our state's uninsured rate has dropped to 6.7 percent, the lowest in our state's history and one of the lowest rates in the country.
• The law that provides financial assistance to qualifying individuals and families is not changed and remains in effect.
• Customers need to continue to shop for the best coverage for themselves and their families in 2017 and complete their enrollment by Dec. 15, 2016, to avoid a gap in coverage.
• It is important for all Coloradans to have coverage, for their health and for their financial security.
• Until the new administration and Congress develop a new direction, we continue with normal operations.