- It’s time for participants to enroll in or renew Affordable Care Act health plan
- There are ways to save money in the Obamacare process, but the enrollee must opt into them
- The enrolment period is now through Jan. 19
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A health care professional is sharing ways to save money when opting into health insurance through PENNIES — Pennsylvania’s Affordable Care Act Marketplace.
Open enrollment for ACA health plans runs through Jan. 19.
"This year, more than nine out of 10 people who are enrolled in marketplace plans throughout the country are getting premium subsidies. That offsets, in a lot of cases, a pretty significant chunk of the amount they have to pay every month.”Louise Norris, health policy analyst for healthinsurance.org
"This year, more than nine out of 10 people who are enrolled in marketplace plans throughout the country are getting premium subsidies,” said Louise Norris, a health policy analyst for healthinsurance.org.
“That offsets, in a lot of cases, a pretty significant chunk of the amount they have to pay every month.”
In Pennsylvania, now through Jan. 19, people who need to buy their own health insurance can enroll or re-enroll in Obamacare.
Norris said to save money there are subsidies, or government incentives, available to many of the people who are enrolled in marketplace plans.
"They send the subsidy directly to your health insurance company every month on your behalf," she said.
"So the money is not coming to you, you're not handling it. It's going directly to your insurance company. Then your insurance company sends you an invoice for the difference.”
Cost-sharing reductions, free help
Norris said people of most income levels are eligible for the incentives.
"The subsidies do extend to a pretty high-income levels through at least 2025," she said. "There is no income cap for subsidy eligibility there used to be but that's been eliminated temporarily.”
Norris said people already enrolled should not automatically renew their current plan because there could be better options to cut costs.
There also are cost-sharing reductions for those who are eligible.
"They know the ins and outs of all these different policies. They can help you look and find a policy that includes your doctors in the network and your drugs are covered on the drug formulary, so you don't have to do this on your own.”Louise Norris, health policy analyst for healthinsurance.org, regarding the free help available to help navigate the process
“They reduce your out-of-pocket costs, so you pay a smaller deductible, you have lower copays, you have lower total out of pocket,” she said.
There is free help available in-person, over the phone, or online to help people navigate the process.
"They know the ins and outs of all these different policies," Norris said.
"They can help you look and find a policy that includes your doctors in the network and your drugs are covered on the drug formulary, so you don't have to do this on your own.”
People who need assistance can visit Healthcare.gov.
