Big ACA insurance premium jump offset by increased subsidy

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Big ACA insurance premium jump offset by increased subsidy

Postby JohnSwanson » Sat Dec 09, 2017 11:05 am

I decided to purchase my health insurance from Colorado's ACA marketplace. I have a Kaiser Permanente
CO Silver 2750/20%/HSA policy with at $2750 annual deductible. I chose this policy because I believe that
I'm indestructible! Actually, I'm betting $2750/year that I won't need to make a claim in exchange for a
lower monthly premium. I discovered that, if I withdraw $185/mo less from my IRA than I planned on, I'm
eligible for the maximum ACA premium income tax credit and this tax credit is much larger than Avaya's
insurance subsidy.

Here is a comparison of my monthly 2017 premium, income tax credit, and my cost vs 2018:
Year/Premium/Tax Credit/My Cost
2017/$692.34/$336.28/$356.06
2018/$937.61/$558.42/$379.19

My policy will renew for 2018 when I make my January premium payment. After the PBGC starts paying
my pension, I'll look into converting my policy from ACA into a standard KP policy.

FYI,
John
Last edited by JohnSwanson on Sun Dec 10, 2017 2:08 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Big ACA insurnace premium jump offset by increased subsi

Postby alandavidmatz » Sat Dec 09, 2017 10:33 pm

Hello John,
I want to tell you that I appreciate your very informative post.
It's amazing how complicated each of our own individual financial situations are.
I also live in Colorado, and - I scheduled two discussions with a county Medical Plan expert -
I wrote up a decision tree, and we talked about it for three entire hours.
I ended up enrolling in a "non-marketplace" plan through OneExchange - in anticipation of
being able to qualify for the HCTC Tax Credits for the year 2018.
It is amazing how complicated and how different each of our own individual financial situations are.
I appreciated reading your informative post.
Dave
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Re: Big ACA insurance premium jump offset by increased subsi

Postby mdimov » Sun Dec 10, 2017 10:45 am

John, Thanks for the update. Could I please get some clarification on the transition from ACA subsidy to the HCTC when the PBGC assumes our pension responsibilities. How did you confirm that we could make that transition? Is it considered a "life event"? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mike
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Re: I read that KP lets us convert to a non-ACA policy

Postby JohnSwanson » Sun Dec 10, 2017 2:17 pm

mdimov wrote:John, Thanks for the update. Could I please get some clarification on the transition from ACA
subsidy to the HCTC when the PBGC assumes our pension responsibilities. How did you confirm that we could make
that transition? Is it considered a "life event"? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mike


Mike,
I read a post from an Avaya retiree that KP will let me convert my coverage to a non-ACA policy. If this isn't true,
then I'll stick with my ACA policy through the end of 2018 and start a new KP policy in 2019 to take advantage of
the HCTC subsidy, assuming that the HCTC is a better deal for me than ACA.
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Re: Big ACA insurance premium jump offset by increased subsi

Postby Dave » Fri Dec 22, 2017 3:41 pm

I had KP through the Colorado market place. I signed up via the Market Place when Obamacare kicked in HOPING that I might get some kind of a subsidy.

Well, I get nothing :( . So on 11/30/17 I called KP and enrolled directly through them. Once I received official documentation that I was enrolled directly with KP I called the Colorado Market Place and cancelled my plan (effective on 1/1/2018) with them.

FYI, the cost of the coverage was identical through KP direct and the Colorado Marketplace.
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Re: Good news about KP insurance policy prices

Postby JohnSwanson » Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:36 pm

Dave,

Thanks for confirming that the KP insurance prices in the Colorado Insurance Marketplace are the same as what KP will
charge me directly! I hoped that this would be the case. Assuming that the HCTC pays 72.5% of my premium, I can reduce
my monthly cost from $379.19 to $257.84 by converting my ACA policy to HCTC. However, I'd like to keep my ACA policy
until the PBGC takes over my pension, before I bail-out-of Obamacare! After all, I do have reasonably-priced insurance
today.

Although converting to the HCTC makes sense today, it will be interesting to see what the future holds! If the Republicans
fail to destroy the ACA, and insurance premiums continue their exponential climb, it could make sense for me to choose
an ACA policy in the future because the subsidies are increasing, while the HCTC is a fixed percentage.

Since the ACA subsidy ends when I'm 65, then I need to join the Medicare mess, assuming that Medicare is still around
in 2023!
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Re: Big ACA insurance premium jump offset by increased subsi

Postby mdimov » Fri Dec 22, 2017 6:36 pm

John,

Not sure that your response is not tongue in cheek... You do realize that the HCTC will not subsidize the ACA rates, rather you need to have a retail policy to apply the 72.5%, at least that is how it has been explained to me. I've discovered that the ACA is a much better deal than the HCTC. Merry Christmas!
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Re: Big ACA insurance premium jump offset by increased subsi

Postby ckatz01 » Fri Dec 22, 2017 6:47 pm

ACA subsidies better than HCTC? I guess it depends on your income and where you live. I'm in NC with no ACA subsidy opportunity and premiums through the roof (but happy to not loose sleep over the prospects of personally going bankrupt in the event of a medical emergency.) I can't wait for the penion to be transferred so I can apply for the HCTC. (And yes, you will have had to buy your plan "direct" and not on the exchange to qualify.) To a better 2018.
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Re: It's a fact that, in my case, HCTC beats the ACA subsidy

Postby JohnSwanson » Thu Dec 28, 2017 4:07 pm

Today I called KP to ask what the list price of my CO Silver 2750/20%/HSA policy is. I specifically asked
what my policy will cost if I purchase it directly from KP and not from a health insurance marketplace!
For 2018, my policy will cost $937.61, which is the same amount that I posted when I started this thread.
If my HCTC pays 72.5% of my policy's cost, then my cost is only $257.84, which will save me $121.54 vs
ACA.

The KP rep I spoke with couldn't answer my question about how to convert my ACA policy to HCTC. She
thinks that I should apply for the HCTC and, once I'm approved, I can call Connect For Health Colorado
and cancel my ACA coverage. Since I haven't received a letter from the PBGC yet, I'm still in a holding
pattern until they take action and I'll find out how to convert my policy next year.

FYI,
John
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Re: Big ACA insurance premium jump offset by increased subsi

Postby ckatz01 » Thu Dec 28, 2017 7:16 pm

John-- I'm not sure I understand your point/what you believe can happen. First, I believe in most if not all cases the price of a health care plan purchased directly or on healthcare.gov should be the same price. At least that's the case in NC where there is really no choice; only one exchange, and only one or two carriers who sell direct depending on the county. Maybe it's different in other states. A friend's brother just retired; his company pension is with the PBGC. The good news; once he retired the PBGC sent him all the paperwork he needed re the 72.5% payment, including having them pay the premium to his provider directly. I'm optimistic we will get the same... it's wait and see. However, assuming this all happens and they pay, if you purchased your plan via the exchange/ACA you will not be eligible for the PBGC payment. Changing a plan in 2018 is very difficult, e.g., minimal number of life changing events. This has been explained on this board and is easily researched. If your plan is an exchange plan I think your done for 2018. Hope I'm understanding the situation correctly.
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