Not sure about the Idaho Health Exchange?

Are you Frustrated with the new Health Care Law? Feeling Confused and not sure what to do or where to go? Like many people in Idaho and across the United States, you have probably heard a thing or two about the Idaho Health Exchange. You may have even tried to apply for health insurance and were not able to complete the application due to technical difficulties of the federal website. There are many people that if they are even able to sign up for health insurance they do not understand how the subsidies fully work or what their plan covers. This puts many Idaho residents in a tough situation if they do not fully understand this new law. So where do you turn for help and who can you trust for information about this new law? Lucky for you this website will have up to date information about the Idaho Health Exchange!

What You Should Know About the Idaho Health Exchange

First off, one of the biggest topics about the New Healthcare law is the tax penalty. The law says that if you go without health insurance for 90 days or more, then you will receive a penalty at tax time. There are some misconceptions about the penalty and many people do not realize its potential. The penalty for 2014 is $95 per adult, $47.50 per child. That is what many people believe the penalty stops at. However, the penalty can be calculated by; per person or 1% of your income. What penalty would you get? It depends on which penalty is more and the Government wants the greater amount. In 2015 the penalty goes up dramatically to 2% or $325 per person and in 2016 it is 2.5% of income or $695 per person! As you can see the penalty could get very costly.

Am I Going To Qualify For A Subsidy?

First of all there are two different types of “subsidies” on the Idaho Health Exchange. First, there is a Premium Tax Credit which looks at how many people are in your household and on your taxes.  It then looks at your Modified Adjusted Gross Income and computes a “Tax Credit” for your situation.  This may seem like a great thing to help pay for the expensive premiums. The catch is that you have to make a certain income for the size of your family to qualify for this.  Many people in Idaho have been told the less you make, then the more Premium Tax Credit you will receive. While that is true to a point, if you make to little money each year then you may not receive any subsidy at all! Click the “Income Table” button to see how much you need to make based on your family size to qualify for a subsidy. The second form of “Subsidy” is if you make in between 100%-250% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).  This subsidy is call a “Cost Sharing Reduction” and it works by lowering your out of pocket costs, like deductible and max-out-of-pocket, only if you purchase a silver plan. For example, if you have a family of four and the Modified Adjusted Gross Income is $55,000 they would receive both forms of subsidies if they purchase a silver plan. For this example, a silver plan normally has a $6,350 maximum-out-of-pocket and a $4,000 deductible (Depending on Carrier).  Because the family is in between 100-250% they qualify for the Cost Sharing Reduction Subsidy. This would make that same Silver plan deductible be about $1,500 and the maximum- out-of-pocket would be around $4,800.  For the same family size but $60,000 in income they would not get the Cost Sharing Reduction Subsidy because that would be over the 250% FPL.