Countdown to Obamacare: We're Answering Your Questions

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The wait is over. The health insurance marketplaces, or “exchanges,” a major component of the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, are launching today, and the government expects millions of consumers to apply for private insurance coverage. The first open enrollment period is six months – beginning in October and going through March 2014. And most Americans will be required to have health insurance, or pay a fine, starting in January.
 
Despite steady media coverage about the law and the administration’s outreach efforts to educate the public about how health reform will impact them, confusion still reigns. A Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll conducted in August found that 51% of people said “they don’t have enough information about the ACA to understand how it will impact them and their family, a share that has been fairly steady since 2010.”
 
In the spirit of de-mystifying the complex, we’re answering your questions. Whether you’re generally confused about what the law does or you’re unclear how your medical history will impact your eligibility for getting insurance, send your questions our way. We’re taking your questions here over the next few weeks as the exchanges roll out and consumers begin shopping. Email your questions to obamacarequestion@yahoo.com and check out our answers below.

Q: Will the insurance cover dental and vision? Is there a maximum amount covered on either or both?

A: Under the ACA, dental insurance is treated differently for adults and children 18 and under. Dental coverage for children is considered an “essential health benefit,” which means it must be available to you as part of a health plan or as a free-standing plan. But insurers don’t have to provide adults with dental coverage. You’ll be able to see which plans include dental benefits on the exchange, and the premium shown for the plan covers both health and dental benefits. That goes for vision coverage, too.

Q: How will yearly wages be determined?  Will it based on actual yearly wages from my W2 only or will I have to include my earnings from stocks and bonds?

A: To qualify for the subsidy or “premium assistance credit” on the exchange, your household income must fall between 100% ($23,550 for a family of four) and 400% of the federal poverty line ($94,200 for a family of four). The exchanges will calculate your household income using Modified Adjusted Gross Income, or MAGI, which includes “such income sources as wages, salary, foreign income, interest, dividends, and Social Security. MAGI calculation does not include income from gifts, inheritance, and Survivors Benefits, and some other income sources are partially excluded,” according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Q: Why is an expat, i.e., an American citizen who does not reside within the territorial domain of the United States of America, required to purchase medical insurance which he cannot possibly use?  The insurance is not valid outside the USA. Is there an exemption? How do you get it?

A: Actually, U.S. citizens living in a foreign country are not required to get health coverage under the ACA. Additionally, if you're uninsured and living abroad, you don't have to pay the penalty for not having insurance.

Q: Do I still need to purchase health insurance from the exchange even if I have employer-provided insurance?

A: You do not. The biggest changes coming from the law impact consumers who don’t already have insurance. For the more than two-thirds of Americans who have insurance through their employer or another person’s employer, the best option is to stick with it. If your employer offers coverage, you can still shop for insurance on the exchange, but you may not qualify for a subsidy; check out HealthCare.gov for more information about eligibility.

Q: How much of my Social Security payments are included in the MAGI? It is extremely confusing. Is it all of it, only half of it, etc.?

A: Whether you’re eligible for a subsidy is based on your expected 2014 income (which will be verified with documentation from your most recent tax return), according to the Kaiser Family Foundation http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/. The exchanges will calculate enrollees’ household incomes using Modified Adjusted Gross Income, or MAGI. And yes, MAGI does count (all) Social Security benefits as income, as well as wages and unemployment benefits.

Q: What are the repercussions for failing to purchase health insurance and refusing to pay the “fine,” “tax," “penalty” or whatever it’s being called now?

A: If you don't have insurance in 2014 (and you’re not exempt from the mandate), when it comes time to file your taxes in 2015, you’ll have to pay a fine of $95 or 1% of your taxable income, whichever is greater. That fine goes up over several years — by 2016, the penalty increases to $695 per adult, or 2.5% of your income.

Some details about how individuals will report the payment on their 2014 tax returns are not yet known. More is expected on that from the IRS later, says Mark Luscombe, principal analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. We do know that individuals will be expected to pay that amount with their 2014 tax returns.  If individuals fail to pay the penalty on their 2014 tax returns, “the IRS may not file levies or liens for that amount, but they may offset any refund due by the amount of the shared responsibility payment,” says Luscombe. “The IRS will have access to information from employers and insurance carriers as to who has health coverage.”

Q: I am 75, retired and have been paying for a supplemental health care plan in addition to Medicare. How will I be impacted by Obamacare?

A: If you’re already enrolled in Medicare, you can ignore the exchanges. “The benefits they have are not part of that law, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says it is illegal for someone to sell them a health plan if they have Medicare,” says Bonnie Burns, a policy consultant at California Health Advocates.

And your Medicare benefits aren’t changing. “No matter how you get Medicare, whether through Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage Plan, you’ll still have the same benefits and security you have now, and you won’t have to make any changes,” the CMS says. Also note that Medicare’s open enrollment period – which is Oct. 15 through Dec. 7 – is separate from the exchange’s enrollment, which begins Oct. 1. 

Q: My tax professional told me that my employer-paid health care plan will now be taxed as part of my income. Is this true?

A: Employer-provided insurance, in general, is still not included as taxable income, says Mark Luscombe of Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. There have been some exceptions – one example is health insurance for domestic partners up until the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act.  There have been some tax reform proposals to eliminate the exclusion for employer-provided health insurance, but they have not been enacted as of yet.

Q: How long will it take to be able to access and use the insurance you pick after signing up October 1st or thereafter?
 
A: Consumers can sign up starting Oct. 1; plans and prices will be available then. If you enroll in a plan by mid-December, your new coverage will begin Jan. 1, 2014. During the rest of open enrollment, if you enroll between the 1st and 15th day of the month and pay your premium, your coverage begins the first day of the next month. So if you enroll on February 10, 2014, your coverage begins March 1, 2014.

Q: I am unemployed and currently pay for COBRA coverage. Since I'm paying $750/month for COBRA coverage, I would like to take advantage of Obamacare health plans being offered in my state. What is the rule, if any, regarding those in my situation (of having EXPENSIVE COBRA coverage) but wanting to drop it [and join] a plan through Obamacare?

A: If you have COBRA coverage, you can buy a plan in the marketplace, where you’ll likely find cheaper options. In fact, some expect the health exchanges to all but replace COBRA coverage, which allows ex-employees to stay on their company’s plan if they pay the (full price) premiums. An August survey by the National Business Group on Health found that about 41% of employers believe former employees on the company’s plan under COBRA would find the exchanges to be the most cost-effective option.

Q: I currently have private health coverage through my company. Will I be able to compare coverage and rates with policies offered under ACA, or is this only for people without insurance?

A: You can check out plans on the exchange, but be aware that you may not qualify for a subsidy (tax credit) — even if your income would otherwise make you eligible. You’d only qualify if you earn less than 400% of the federal poverty level and your employer’s plan covers less than 60% of allowed medical expenses or costs more than 9.5% of your household income.

Q: Will any of the companies selling through the exchange sell to out of state customers? [Does] Georgia allow residents to buy across state lines?

A: No. Existing law does not allow companies participating in the health exchanges to sell policies across state lines, says Janet Coffman, adjunct professor at University of California, San Francisco’s Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Q: I am 63 years old, currently uninsured because I have sleep apnea and have been refused. Will I be able to get health insurance under Obamacare? Any idea what it will cost?

A: One key change under health reform is that, beginning in January, insurers will no longer be able to refuse coverage to consumers – regardless of their health status – a big benefit to those with pre-existing conditions. Cost really depends on your particulars: age, state, income and what kind of coverage you want. Once you have insurance, the plan can't refuse to cover treatment for pre-existing conditions. The only exception is for grandfathered individual health insurance plans – the kind you buy yourself, not through an employer – which don’t have to cover pre-existing conditions.

Q: Will annual physicals and/or annual gynecological exams be covered free of charge regardless of the plan I choose on the exchange?

A: Most health plans must cover a set of preventive services at no cost to you, and this includes plans bought on the exchanges. All plans available on the exchange (as well as most other plans) must cover a set of services for adults – and another set for women specifically – without charging a copayment or coinsurance (even if you haven’t met your yearly deductible), according to HealthCare.gov. These services include mammography screenings every one to two years for women over 40, cervical cancer screenings, colonoscopies and gynecological exams, as well as others.