The Good and the Bad of Obamacare
Thursday October 27, 2016 (Original post date)
In this interview, I mentioned the information a broker in Naples Florida sent me
regarding some of their customers buying Obamacare compliant individual health insurance.
Here are the broker's 2017 examples:
Family of four, mom and dad age 40, two kids. Lowest Bronze annual premium $13,176. Deductible $7,150 single, $14,300 family. Income $130,000. Not eligible for subsidies. Exempt from the individual mandate because their premium exceeds 8.16% of their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). The broker points out that their premium plus one deductible totals $20,236––16% of MAGI––the point at which they can begin to collect on claims (there may be some nominal first dollar benefits such as a wellness benefit).
Single woman age 45. Lowest Bronze premium $4,968. Deductible of $7,150. Income of $50,000. Not eligible for a subsidy. Exempt from the individual mandate because her premium exceeds 8.16% of her MAGI. Broker points out that her customer's premium plus the deductible totals $12,118––24% of the customer's MAGI––the point at which she can begin to collect on claims.
Couple ages 64 and 61. Lowest Bronze premium $20,004. Deductible of $7,150 single and $14,300 family. Income of $150,000. Not eligible for subsidies. Exempt from the individual mandate because premium exceeds 8.16% of MAGI. The broker points out that the total of their annual premium and one deductible is $27,154––18% of their MAGI––the point at which they can begin to collect on claims.
Premiums obviously vary by market. Rather than taking my word for it, I suggest you go to HealthCare.gov and check out a few markets. You do not need to log in to browse the plan offerings. You need only insert a zip code and age and family status, as well as to enter a big income like $100,000 to be assured of getting the unsubsidized price no matter their status. The unsubsidized price is the price that half of the people buying Obamacare compliant plans are paying.
Posted by ROBERT LASZEWSKI