Ralph Coleman Amazes the Health Insurance Industry with Affordable health plans

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Aug. 27, 2014 - PRLog -- Since the inception of the affordable care act Americans have been scrambling to get health insurance benefits that provide comprehensive coverage with affordability before the March 31, 2014 deadline.

The major complaint of most consumers is that they either don't qualify for a government subsidy or they can't find rates that are affordable and when they search online they get inundated with an immediate wave of phone calls from hundreds of agents, before they've even hit the submit button.

There's also mass confusion about what types of plans qualify as minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Ralph Coleman makes clear what qualifies and what does not. Full disclosure on all plans.

What is the new coverage requirement?
Starting in 2014, the new health law requires most individuals to have some form of health coverage (known as minimum essential coverage). Most existing insurance coverage meets this requirement, such as: employer-provided coverage (including COBRA insurance coverage and retiree coverage), coverage purchased on your own from the new Health Insurance Marketplaces or from the outside individual market, Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage, Veteran’s Affairs coverage, TRICARE, Peace Corps volunteers coverage, Refugee Medical Assistance, student insurance plans, or coverage through a state high risk pool program. There are also several exemptions from this requirement.

The fee in 2014 is 1% of your yearly income or $95 per person for the year, whichever is higher. The fee increases every year. In 2016 it's 2.5% of income or $695 per person, whichever is higher.

If you're paying under the $95 per person method, in 2014 the payment for uninsured children is $47.50 per child. The most a family would have to pay under this method in 2014 is $285.

You make the payment when you file your 2014 taxes, which are due in April 2015.

If you do not have health insurance and do not qualify for an exemption, you must pay a penalty to the IRS at the end of the 2014 tax year. The amount you owe will be pro-rated to reflect the number of months you were without coverage. This penalty increases over time.

Exemptions from the payment

Who isn’t required to have health insurance without getting a penalty?
There are several exemptions from the requirement to have health insurance. A big one is if you don’t have an affordable option, which the law defines as coverage that costs less than 8 percent of your income. This is called the hardship exemption. Another exception is if your income is low enough that you don’t have to file taxes.

A large group of people who will get this exemption are those with income below the federal poverty level but do not qualify for Medicaid because their state chose not to expand the Medicaid program. Other exemptions include: members of religious groups that object to having insurance coverage and members of Indian tribes or those eligible for services through the Indian Health Service.

You may also qualify for an exemption if:

You’re uninsured for less than 3 months of the year

The lowest-priced coverage available to you would cost more than 8% of your household income

You don’t have to file a tax return because your income is too low (Learn about the filing limit.)

You’re a member of a federally recognized tribe or eligible for services through an Indian Health Services provider

You’re a member of a recognized health care sharing ministry

You’re a member of a recognized religious sect with religious objections to insurance, including Social Security and Medicare

You’re incarcerated, and not awaiting the disposition of charges against you

You’re not lawfully present in the U.S.

Hardship exemptions

If you have any of the circumstances below that affect your ability to purchase health insurance coverage, you may qualify for a “hardship” exemption:

You were homeless.

You were evicted in the past 6 months or were facing eviction or foreclosure.

You received a shut-off notice from a utility company.

You recently experienced domestic violence.

You recently experienced the death of a close family member.

You experienced a fire, flood, or other natural or human-caused disaster that caused substantial damage to your property.

You filed for bankruptcy in the last 6 months.

You had medical expenses you couldn’t pay in the last 24 months.

You experienced unexpected increases in necessary expenses due to caring for an ill, disabled, or aging family member.

You expect to claim a child as a tax dependent who’s been denied coverage in Medicaid and CHIP, and another person is required by court order to give medical support to the child. In this case, you do not have the pay the penalty for the child.

As a result of an eligibility appeals decision, you’re eligible for enrollment in a qualified health plan (QHP) through the Marketplace, lower costs on your monthly premiums, or cost-sharing reductions for a time period when you weren’t enrolled in a QHP through the Marketplace.

You were determined ineligible for Medicaid because your state didn’t expand eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Your individual insurance plan was cancelled and you believe other Marketplace plans are unaffordable.

You experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance.

You lose health insurance with Minimum Essential Coverage due to a divorce, job loss, death of a spouse or parent. (within the last 60 days)

You are gaining or losing a dependent through marriage, the birth, adoption or placement of a child.

You permanently moved to a new state, you are being moved to a new health insurance plan, you are gaining citizenship or valid immigration status.

The great fear is in being penalized for not having health insurance.

Well, the truth is that the penalty for 2014 is quite small compared to the consequences of not having any health benefits.

The priority should be to have some form of benefits that will allow you to get medical care without the worries of a large medical bill.   Something affordable to buffer the high costs of medical care.  The measly penalty should be the least of our worries.

Ralph Coleman has made it possible to order your health benefits with a simple phone call.

Until the next open enrollment in November 2014, your options are fixed benefit plans as low as $78 per month with $0 deductible, $1,000 deductible or $2,500 deductible.  Accident benefits as low as $17, critical illness benefits for a life-threatening heart attack, stroke, or cancer from $25 and affordable dental and vision benefits from $16 a month with no waiting period.

Call Ralph Coleman and get your questions answered before you make a purchase.  Ralph has made shopping for affordable health insurance a pleasurable experience without fear of being slammed with phone calls from agents all over the country and no pressure.

Call for a free, no obligation quote: 954-636-9013