Whether you are unemployed, self-employed, or not working enough to receive insurance benefits, its possible to find affordable health insurance.
It’s important not only to remain insured for emergencies, but to remain compliant with the laws. Due to the Affordable Care Act, you now have to pay a penalty tax unless you meet a certain criteria.
Finding the Right Plan
In this article, I’m going to detail different methods of finding good health insurance plans. Shopping around is the best way of finding the right plan. With so many options, it makes sense to compare multiple companies, agents, and plans against each other.
When you consider the tax penalty along with the possibility of having a medical emergency, the cost of being uninsured is way too high.
1. Shop Around
The Affordable Care Act exchanges aren’t showing all of the affordable plans available to you. The only way to find the cheapest most beneficial plan is to compare different plans from different companies.
Get a quote from an Agent
Agents are an excellent way of shopping around for insurance. There are two different types of agents: “Independent Agents” are agents who can show you plans through many different insurers, while “Captive agents” are tied to one company and all of the plans that they offer.
Independent Agents
Independent agents are usually your best bet since they have so many different plans that they can show you. Many independent agencies can help you apply for Obama Care subsidies.
HealthInsurance.net is an online agency that I have used in the past. They even have a simple free quote form on their website that can get information on plans from a ton of different insurance carriers.
Captive Agents
There’s not much I can say about captive agents besides the fact that choosing a plan will be easy because you’ll be so limited on options. A lot of people limit their options by getting quotes from one company. As you can imagine, this limiting factor can potentially limit your ability to obtain insurance for a reasonable price.
2. Find out what You Qualify For
There are different federal programs available such as Medical, Medicaid, a CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program). These programs provide low cost healthcare for those who apply.
Medicare
Medicare is a program that is available for people over the age of 65 or sometimes under 65 if you have certain disabilities. If you believe that you qualify for Medicare, contact your local social security office so that you can obtain these wonderful benefits.
Medicaid
Medicaid, on the other hand, is a state and federal program that is meant for low income families, pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly. In some cases, you can have dual eligibility and benefit from both programs.
CHIP
CHIP is available for children and their families in some circumstances where they aren’t qualified for Medicaid.
It doesn’t hurt to look into some of these options. If you are able to qualify for either Medicaid or CHIP, you can dramatically decrease the costs of your health insurance. It’s best to check with an agent so you can evaluate your options.
3. Attain a High-Deductive/Catastrophic Plan
If you are healthy and willing to pay out of pocket for typical month-to-month medical expenses, this plan might work for you.
These plans offer low premiums for people under 30. If you are over 30, you may qualify for an exemption if you are experiencing hardship. You can find a full list of exemptions on the HealthCare.gov website.
In a catastrophic plan, you are entitled to three primary care doctor’s visits each year, coverage for prescriptions, and other essential benefits. You do have to pay out of pocket for any other medical expenses until you reach the high deductive of $7,150.
These plans are only recommended for people who are young, healthy, and still have means of reaching the deductible in case of an emergency. Keep in mind, if you are eligible for subsidies available through the marketplace, the savings could make a normal health insurance plan a better option.
Find Affordable Health Coverage
The best way to find affordable health coverage is to shop around and enroll in an appropriate program. It’s tricky finding a health care plan that provides everything you need for an affordable cost.
I recommend that you go to an independent agency like get a free quote right now and get a free quote. They will be able to give you options and explain the benefits and negatives of each plan.
If you have any questions or feedback, I encourage you to comment below or email me at Nick@WealthyRoads.com!
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