Here's 12 Things to Remember when you go to #GetCovered:
1. MOST WILL HAVE MORE TIME BUT YOU STILL SHOULDN'T DELAY!
The final deadline has been extended by a full month in most states, but in order to have your coverage start IN JANUARY you should still enroll by DECEMBER 15th!
2. AVOID JUNK PLANS & SCAMS; MAKE SURE YOU ENROLL IN AN OFFICIAL ACA POLICY.
There's lots of questionable website selling questionable policies these days. Stick to *official* ACA exchanges or *authorized* enrollment partners only!
3. OFF-EXCHANGE ENROLLEES: THIS IS THE YEAR TO SWITCH TO ON-EXCHANGE COVERAGE!
Thanks to the #AmRescuePlan, millions who are paying full price for off-exchange plans are now eligible for enhanced #ACA subsidies...but they have to enroll ON-EXCHANGE to take advantage of this!
4. MILLIONS MORE NOW QUALIFY FOR FINANCIAL HELP...AND THOSE WHO ALREADY DID QUALIFY FOR MORE!
Middle-income folks had to pay full price, & help for many lower-income folks still wasn't generous enough. Thanks to the #AmRescuePlan, #ACA plans are now affordable for *everyone*!
5. TEN STATES OFFER *ADDITIONAL* SAVINGS *ON TOP OF* EXPANDED #ARP SUBSIDIES!
In addition to the expanded/enhanced savings thanks to the #AmRescuePlan, 10 states have their own programs offering additional financial help for lower- (& sometimes middle-income) enrollees!
6. FOR LOWER-INCOME ENROLLEES, SILVER IS THE NEW PLATINUM!
If you earn < 200% FPL (~$26K if single; ~$52K for a family of 4), make sure to enroll in a SILVER plan to get SUBSTANTIALLY lower out of pocket costs!
"CSR Silver 94" or "CSR Silver 87" are effectively PLATINUM plans!
7. FOR MIDDLE-INCOME ENROLLEES, GOLD PLANS MAY COST LESS THAN SILVER!
It's a long, strange story, but the bottom line is that if you earn *over* 200% FPL, some Gold plans may not only be a better value than Silver, they may actually cost less in premiums...or even cost $0/month!
8. FIVE STATES* STILL HAVE THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL MANDATE!
The *federal* penalty may be gone, but CA, DC, MA, NJ & RI all still charge a financial penalty for residents who don't have #ACA-compliant healthcare coverage (unless they have an exemption).
*(I know DC isn't a state.)
9. MANY STATES/COUNTIES HAVE MORE CHOICES THAN EVER.
The days of worrying about "bare counties" are gone. Dozens of insurance carriers are expanding their coverage areas in 2022, entering new counties & states while offering more plan options.
Of course that can be confusing...
...which is why it's great that...
10. THE NAVIGATOR PROGRAM IS BACK AT FULL STRENGTH, BABY!
The HHS Dept. has upped grant funding to dozens of qualified health insurance navigator programs nationally for 2022... especially for underserved communities. Help & guidance is here!
11. ABOVE ALL ELSE: DO *NOT* LET YOURSELF BE PASSIVELY "AUTO-RENEWED!"
It's always been a good idea to *actively* shop around to see whether there's a better value available, but that's more true than ever this year! Don't leave money on the table; SHOP AROUND & save!
Whoops! I thought I had 12 items listed but I guess I only wrote up 11.
OK, here's #12: If you find this thread or my work at ACA Signups useful & want to support it, you can do so here either one-time or monthly, thanks!
--small-ball version of Medicare Part D drug negotiation!
--penalty if drugmakers increase prices more than inflation!
--$2,000 Part D out-of-pocket cost cap!
--$35/mo cap on insulin costs!
...but there's more!
A lot of these changes are just clerical/typo corrections or slight legalese tweaks to pass legal muster (think the #KingvBurwell debacle!).
Other changes are literally just bumping funding up a bit for one program or down a bit for another.
As an aside, this was precisely my point last spring when Bernie folks demanded that VP Harris fire the parliamentarian after she put the kibosh on including $15MW in the ARP bill.
If Manchinema oppose killing or even altering the filibuster they sure as hell aren’t gonna be onboard with firing the person who decides what can pass without the filibuster.
Setting aside the dire status of democracy at the moment, it's kind of interesting in a wonky sort of way to compare the *smaller* text changes which *don't* make much of a difference: rules.house.gov/sites/democrat…
1. MOST WILL HAVE MORE TIME BUT YOU STILL SHOULDN'T DELAY!
The final deadline has been extended by a full month in most states, but in order to have your COVERAGE START IN JANUARY you should still *ENROLL* BY DECEMBER 15th!
Here's the official enrollment deadlines for every state + DC. (Note: A few of these may change):