Last call for healthcare, which might be cheaper than you think

The deadline to sign up for a healthcare plan this year through the Washington Health Benefit Exchange is Jan. 15 at midnight. According to the exchange’s chief marketing officer Michael Marchand, some plans might actually be more affordable than you think.

“There are tax credits available for those who are up to 400 percent of the federal poverty line, which for a family of four is actually like $96,000 household income,” Marchand told Dave Ross. “There have been people who have been able to get health insurance coverage for as little as $50 or $100 or even less.”

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Plan prices increase every year, Marchand said. This year is no different in that regard. But in 2018, subsidies have also increased.

Healthcare subsidies

“Without the federal government providing cost-sharing reductions, the insurance carriers in our state loaded those costs onto silver plans. The silver level plans are the same plans that are used to dictate the tax credit. So as a result, while silver plans increased, tax credits increased,” Marchand said.

Basically, as money paid into mid-level healthcare plans go up, so do the subsidies that help people pay for those plans.

“For someone who maybe was in a silver plan last year, they may find themselves able to buy a gold plan, buy up, which actually provides them better coverage and also lowers deductibles and other costs,” Marchand said.

This may not be the case in other states though, Marchand explained. Now that the federal government has ended cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers, states that depend on federal marketplaces (Washington’s is state-run) may suffer.

“I think it’s very interesting for us here in Washington state because we were very aggressive in a bipartisan manner to get our exchange formulated and set in place to provide something that works best for the residents here,” Marchand said. “So we’re a little more stable than I would say some of the other states that maybe didn’t take any action and have relied on Healthcare.gov to date.”

According to Marchand, about one in four Washington residents use the state exchange to buy health insurance. Despite the uncertainty surrounding health insurance in the future, he said he believes the marketplace in Washington will continue to function as planned.

Although the deadline to enroll is Monday, people with special circumstances like employment termination, divorce, or a new child, will be able to enroll at a later date.

“Save for that, midnight on Monday is last call,” Marchand said.

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