by tomindenver » Mon Nov 13, 2017 9:43 am
ckatz01, So glad you found the "not in exchange" plans on OneExchange site and that your same plan is listed there! It should result in you getting a 1095-B instead of a 1095-A at the end of 2018 which in turn should be acceptable proof to apply for HCTC. You should also get a letter after you sign up from your insurance company indicating the plan is "off-exchange" which is what HCTC IRS forms actually ask for for proof. To be sure you get a letter, you may want to call the insurance company after you sign up again and just ask if the letter will come. If they say yes, it will at least give you some piece of mind. If they say no maybe you can request it. The letter is also more preferable because you would need that to get advance premium payments from the IRS to pay your premiums and to know sooner whether you will qualify for HCTC (instead of finding out when you do your takes in 2019). There is an earlier post from me on that.
Vickie, yes, it is nice when we can help each other. We retirees have to stick together and support each other because it is like pulling teeth to get the organizations that are supposed to help to actually do it! Regarding your question about OneExhange ... I also had a horrible time that 1st year. But since then they have been better at least for me. I haven't had long wait times and they seem better educated, but it really depends on who you get. As far as doctors not accepting what they had to offer, I didn't run into that. If you mean doctors wouldn't accept the plans from lesser known companies, I never tried to use any of those plans.
daglover, regarding your question about whether Avaya is continuing the HRA funding 2018, I have pestered both Avaya and OneExchange big time in the last couple of weeks about that. I have been waiting to post here until I get an answer. But I will share what I know at this point ... all Avaya ever says is "you have to call OneExchange". I keep refusing to close Avaya's ticket until they give me a better answer. They are sick of me (the feeling is mutual). I have had better success with OneExchange, but still no acceptable answer. I managed to talk to a supervisor (MaryAnne Carrol). Her initial answer was something like "you will find out if you are getting the HRA funding when you go to make your claim for it". I said we need to know before that because we are considering the HCTC and we need to know in advance to make decisions, etc. I said if OneExchange wants to provide good customer service to us then they need to know whether the funding is coming and how it conflicts with HCTC, etc. Since they are supposed to be our broker then they need to help us sort this stuff out. I was really persistent. She finally "got it" and said she would talk to her manager who would then talk to the manager that does the liaison with Avaya. That was a couple weeks ago. A week ago, I called to get status and they said it has been escalated to their senior mgt and they are waiting to hear from Avaya. So Avaya is even blowing them off!! I was supposed to get a callback last Friday for an update, but they didn't call. My guess is Avaya doesn't know themselves and they might be waiting to come out of bankruptcy before they act on the question. I would encourage all to call both Avaya and OneExchange regarding the HRA funding question so we can get as much pressure on them as possible. If enough people call, it may get through. Geez, what a pain all this is. Anyway, that is what I know at this point, If anyone has more info, please share. Thanks.