Health Coverage Tax Credit

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Health Coverage Tax Credit

Postby sgaeth » Tue Mar 06, 2018 4:20 pm

Has anyone from Avaya applied for the HCTC yet? Or do we have to wait until the PBGC starts paying our pension checks?
sgaeth
 
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Re: Health Coverage Tax Credit

Postby sgaeth » Tue Mar 06, 2018 4:32 pm

I understand that to qualify, your plan must be outside the ACA. Can you use a plan inside the ACA, if you are not going to receive any subsidies? My Cobra runs out 4-30-18 and I am looking for a new plan at this time. I live in Michigan.
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Re: Health Coverage Tax Credit

Postby tomindenver » Sat Mar 10, 2018 10:21 am

sgeath, My understanding is you must NOT use an ACA or MarketPlace plan to qualify for HCTC. The plan must be purchased directly from the insurance company or "off-exchange". At tax time, you would receive a 1095-B which means you were enrolled directly from the insurance company provider (1095-A means you enrolled through the MarketPlace or Exchange). Also, when you first enroll, the enrollment letter should indicate whether you enrolled via a MarketPlace or Exchange or whether you enrolled off-exchange. Some providers offer the same exact plan both on the Exchange and off the Exchange. When you call the insurance company to enroll you can check.

If you don't qualify for an ACA subsidy, it would not make sense to enroll via the MarketPlace or Exchange if you want to someday use HCTC. If you enroll via Avaya's broker, OneExchange (now called Via Benefits), there are tabs on their web site for browsing plans on and off exchange. The only reason you would likely enroll with Avaya's broker is if you qualify for an HRA reimbursement from Avaya for your premiums. If you go this route (like I am), it makes sense to use Avaya's HRA funding to get reimbursements for your premiums until the funding (usually $2500) runs out, or until PBGC starts paying our pensions. The IRS forms for HCTC allow you to specify exactly what months of the year you want to use HCTC. What I plan to do is apply for HCTC only for those months that I do not use Avaya's HRA funding. I doubt if the IRS would let you use Avaya's HRA funding and HCTC in the same month (since they do not allow ACA subsidies and HCTC in the same months). If you qualify for an ACA subsidy and that subsidy would cover a greater percentage of your premiums than the 72.5% of your premiums that HCTC covers (provided PBGC is paying your pension), then you would want to use a marketplace plan.

BTW, the website for Avaya's broker is https://marketplace.viabenefits.com/avaya/ and the phone number is 1-844-669-3681. They can tell you whether you can get Avaya's HRA funding and what the amount is.

All this has been discussed in great detail on this forum. If you have the time, I suggest you browse through all the posts. Good luck.
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