Guest Opinion: Affordable Care Act/Obama Care costs for 2015
Open enrollment for health insurance on the ACA/Obama Care Marketplace exchange is Nov. 14, 2014 until Feb 15th, 2015. For coverage by Jan. 1, 2015 you must apply by Dec. 15.
Lee County has 100,000-plus uninsured who under 65 years old and do not get insurance from where they work, Medicare, Medicaid, VA or Tricare. There are 39 plans available this year from four different insurance companies.
Many people think that if they are in the middle to lower income levels in Lee County that health insurance is just too expensive and don’t attempt to find out the cost on the exchange.
The average wage for Lee County’s hospitality workers is just $21,000 per year. The overall per capita income in Lee County is just $28,105.
This means that most will qualify for subsidies and see much lower costs than they expected.
Here are some examples for Lee County citizens taken directly from the healthcare.gov website:
Let’s compare the lowest cost, high deductible Bronze plan with a $0 Deductible Silver plan with $10 Doctor and Drug copays:
A single person making $19,000 per year could get a bronze plan for $4 per month or the Silver plan for $73.
A married couple making $29,000 per year could get a Bronze for $10 and the Silver for $135.
A family of three making $29,000 per year could get the Bronze for $40 and the Silver for $98.
A family of four making $46,000 per year could get the Bronze for $79 per month or the Sliver for $220 per month.
There is more help than you think.
In addition to Navigators and certified assisters, many of Lee County’s licensed insurance agents have taken the required training to be able to sell their company’s products that are on the Marketplace. For many first-time insurance buyers, the barrier of technical insurance jargon is quite intimidating. Many do not know the TWO areas that are subsidized to make it even more affordable.
It does not cost you any more to use an insurance agent, navigator or certified assister than it does if you do it yourself.
Jim Roach lives in Cape Coral and is a former congressional candidate who is well known in SW Florida for his research and understanding of the Affordable Care Act. Jim Roach is currently a licensed agent for Florida Blue Cross.