New Healthplans

In accordance with the new healthcare law, insurance companies have now released new health insurance plans for 2014.

If you enroll now, you cannot use these plans until January 1, 2014.

All of these plans have new benefits that are now required by law – coverage of pre-existing conditions, maternity coverage, wellness exams, etc.

Some of these plans must be purchased through the new insurance exchange (called “on exchange plans), while other may be purchased “off” the exchange (called “off exchange plans”).

Exchange plans are small HMO’s, with a limited network of doctors. The only reason to purchase an “exchange plan” is if you qualify for a government subsidy, which is government aid that helps to pay your health insurance. If you qualify for a government subsidy (see guidelines below), you must purchase a plan through the exchange, called an exchange plan, in order to receive your government subsidy.

If your income is above the numbers mentioned below, you are better off buying a plan that is “off the exchange”, since you are not eligible to receive supplement money, and the “off exchange” plans have much larger networks of doctors.

Here is how to determine if you are eligible to receive a subsidy, which is government aid that helps to pay your health insurance.

If your income is under $12,000 as an individual, you are eligible to receive Medicaid.
If you are 2 people, and your income is below $15,000, you are eligible for Medicaid.
If you are a family of four, and your income is below $23,000, you are eligible for Medicaid.

If you are an individual and pay taxes on income that ranges between $12,000 and $40,000, you qualify to receive some government subsidy money to help pay for your insurance. You would therefore want to buy your insurance through the exchange.

If you are a couple and you collectively pay taxes up to $62,000, you qualify to receive some government subsidy money to help pay for your insurance. You would therefore want to buy your insurance through the exchange.

If you are a family of three, and you collectively pay taxes on up to $78,000, you qualify to receive some government subsidy money to help pay for your insurance. You would therefore want to buy your insurance through the exchange.

If you are a family of four, and you collectively pay taxes on up to $94,000, you qualify to receive some government subsidy money to help pay for your insurance. You would therefore want to buy your insurance through the exchange.

If your income is above the numbers mentioned above, you are better off buying a plan that is “off the exchange”, since you are not eligible to receive supplement money.

The plans off the exchange are much larger networks, and are a much better option if you do not need to purchase insurance through the exchange. (Again, the reason to purchase on the exchange is if you are eligible for a government subsidy to help pay for your insurance).

Regardless of where you purchase your insurance, you can always use an agent!!!

It doesn’t cost a dime to use an agent, since the agent gets paid by the insurance company that pays the agent using a portion of your monthly premeium. So the agents commission comes out of the insurance companies pocket, not yours.

However, there are numerous benefits to using an agent.

1) They are much more accessible. It’s like having your own personal health insurance assistant. Would you rather call the IRS or a private company with five employees? When you apply directly through the exchange without using an agent, you are simply using the government as your insurance agency, and you have to deal with the long waits and bad customer service that the government is notorious for…and have thus far been receiving numerous complaints. It’s far easier to simply call an agent that works in a small private business, rather than trying to contact a large insurance company. It can be very frustrating.

2) If you have a billing or claim issue (as health insurance policies often do!), if you have an agent, you can quickly and easily call the agent to take care of everything for you! Otherwise you must take care of the issue by navigating the labyrinth of customer service representatives by yourself. The people working at the exchanges are instructed to simply refer you to the insurance company that sold you the policy, should you call them with a problem that you are having.

3) Health insurance agents have far more experience than the newly minted navigators who are new to the field of health insurance.
Our agency has been selling health insurance since 1970!!

How would you like to have your own personal assistant to help you with your health insurance? An agent is literally at your beckon call to help you decide on best coverage for you and your family, solve billing and claim issues, and help with any policy changes.

Call us today for a free quote!!!!