The new Obamacare program requires that everyone have health insurance coverage by January 1, 2014. The goal is to have about 7 million new people enrolled in health care next year giving more people access to the health care they need. Not everyone will be able to afford the new health care coverage, but Obamacare subsidies will be available that will enable more people to enroll who could not afford it otherwise.
“Navigators” Are Available to Guide Through the Process
Several news stories have come out saying that the process may not be all that easy to get signed up and covered. To help you through it, however, each state will have several “Navigators” available, says Forbes.com. “Navigators” are insurance agencies on an approved government list that can legally help you get signed up to get the required Obamacare coverage.
Lower Costs May Be Available
Getting low cost coverage may enable you to get lower monthly costs through Obamacare, and you may also be able to get lower costs for your out-of-pocket expenses and co-payments, says HealthCare.gov. Depending on your income, you may be able to get lower premiums through an Advance Premium Tax Credit, which you will be able to use immediately toward your monthly premiums. A chart shows what your income needs to be in order to qualify.
If you want to find out what you might be able to qualify for prior to October 1, the Kaiser Foundation has a calculator to help you to determine this amount. It will provide you with an estimate, but it should be rather close to the actual results, which you will only be able to get after the Marketplace is open.
You May Be Able to Be Put On Other Government Programs
Even though some government programs had been closed to you before, it may be possible to get on programs such as Medicaid, or have your children put on CHIP. The new Obamacare program will permit some people to qualify who did not before.
Even though some states have chosen not to expand their Medicaid program, you may still be able to get Obamacare subsidies to lower your costs. You can calculate this by going HealthCare.gov to see if you qualify for lower costs for private insurance. Some people will fall into a “gap” where your income may be less than poverty level, but still too high to get into Medicaid or Obamacare subsidies.
One of the best ways to get low cost health insurance is through an employer. In fact, this will generally be the lowest cost form you can get anywhere because your employer will often pay a large percentage of the plan.
MoneyTalksNews.com says that even though you cannot be rejected any more due to pre-existing conditions, there may be other problems that can jack up your premiums. The main one is smoking, so if you smoke, you may want to try real hard to quit now so you can enjoy great prices – and perhaps even be able to get one of the Obamacare subsidies.
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