The Truth Denied is providing this information for our listeners and readers because it seems there is a ton of confusion as to what is expected of all of us this October 1, 2013. We have outlined important dates for the public based on our current research. Pass it on please , as there are many of you who have no idea as to what we are in for in the USA. If there is one thought I wish to pass on to you all, it would be, we do not have a choice in this matter of Health Insurance. If you do not have it, the laws clearly state that you will need to purchase Health insurance or we will be penalized via the IRS. It is not something any of us can ignore, and we cannot opt out or play the ignorance card.
H. R. 3962 Affordable Health Care Act
For those of you who are inclined to read the actual government document of the 111TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 3962, we have provided it here:http://housedocs.house.gov/rules/health/111_ahcaa.pdf
Federal Taxes and Penalties
Beginning with their 2014 federal taxes, many consumers who can afford health insurance but decide not to buy it will owe penalties to the IRS when they file their taxes in the spring of 2015. There will be constant efforts to overturn this and other provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also referred to as Obama Care. But the Supreme Court decision to uphold the law’s constitutionality has greatly increased the odds that the so-called individual mandate to have health insurance will be implemented over the next two years.
Non-Financial Exclusions
The mandate is designed to apply to people who make enough money to buy private health insurance but choose not to be insured either on their employer’s plan, in the individual market, or through the insurance exchanges that must be set up in each state under the law. It does not apply to Americans age 65 and up who are covered by Medicare.
There is a long list of people who do not have health insurance but will not face a penalty on non-financial grounds:
• Those people who are between jobs and without insurance for up to three months
• Those who have have religious objections
• Undocumented immigrants need not apply
• If you are a resident of a jail or prison, need not to worry
• If you are a member of an Indian tribe, you are exempt
Income Provisions
The financial tests to avoid a penalty include having family income that is too low to require filing a federal tax return. Using 2010 rules, this would be less than $9,350 for an individual and $18,700 for a family.
Higher-earning households may also be exempted from penalties for not buying health insurance if their out-of-pocket cost for private health insurance is more than 8 percent of their taxable income. This amount is for any additional cost after subtracting employer healthcare insurance contributions.
It is also after reflecting any health insurance subsidies available as tax credits through the state insurance exchanges being created by the act. A report from the CBO and the staff of the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation last March estimated that consumers who qualify for subsidies using the state exchanges will receive an average benefit of $4,780 in 2014, $5,040 in 2015, and $5,210 in 2016. This benefit is mostly for the tax credits but also includes other support items, according to a Treasury Department spokeswoman.
Those credits are keyed to the nation’s financial poverty guidelines. These are set each year by the government and adjusted annually based on changes in the consumer price index. The exchanges will offer a sliding scale of insurance subsidies that extend to incomes as high as four times the poverty guidelines.
The guidelines for 2012 begin at $11,170 for one person and increase by $3,960 for each additional person in the household. For a family of four, the 2012 guideline is $23,050. Tax credits for buying health insurance would be available for four-person households with taxable earnings up to 400 percent of that level, or $92,200. (The size of a household is determined by how many people are included on the head of household’s tax return.)
Where do we begin?
- By Oct. 1, 2013, every state will have an insurance exchange—an organized marketplace where individuals and small-business owners can select from among all the qualified private health plans available in their area.
- It’s expected that most consumers will shop on their state’s marketplace online, but they can also shop by phone, through brokers, or with the personal assistance of trained helpers called Navigators. There will also be help available for consumers who don’t speak English. (To see what a health insurance marketplace looks like, visit the Health Connector run by Massachusetts, which has had a mandate since 2007. (Consumer Reports) http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/06/update-on-health-care-reform/index.htm
- Jan. 1, 2014, will make shopping for health insurance a completely different experience for those who buy it on their own—or are uninsured today. These are the biggies:
- Guaranteed issue. Health plans must sell coverage to everyone, regardless of pre-existing conditions, and can’t charge more based on health or gender.
- Individual mandate. Everyone will be required to have health insurance or pay a penalty. Almost any sort of legitimate coverage will satisfy the mandate: private insurance obtained on your own or through a job, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, Veterans Affairs, the Indian Health Service, or Tricare.
- Penalty. If you don’t have health insurance, you’ll have to pay a tax penalty, starting at $95 per individual, $285 per family, or 1 percent of income, whichever is greater, for 2014. (That rises to $695 per individual, $2,085 per family, or 2.5 percent of income in 2016.)
- Because the vast majority of people will already have qualifying health insurance, few will confront the choice of buying a plan or paying a penalty. Moreover, you won’t have to pay it if you make too little money to file a federal tax return or would have to spend more than 8 percent of your household income on the cheapest qualifying plan, even including subsidies. Americans living abroad, and those in prisons, are exempt from the mandate and associated fines.
- Medicaid expansion. The health care law was intended to expand the government-run health program for low-income Americans to cover up to 16 million more people with household incomes up to 133 percent of the poverty line ($14,856 for an individual and $30,657 for a family of four). That includes many at or below the poverty line who aren’t currently eligible. Are you eligible for Medicaid? Read about how to navigate Medicaid. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/09/navigating-medicaid/index.htm
- Who is running the Insurance Program?
For now, the federal government will be running 26 of the exchanges outright and another seven in partnership with states. And in an interesting twist, President Barack Obama will be using the exchange system for part of his family’s health care, as will members of Congress.
- Learn what you can do now to get ready for Marketplace enrollment in October 2013.
http://www.healthcare.gov/marketplace?gclid=CLTU7OurmbYCFQQEnQodAzcADw
- Get a Break on Costs of Health Insurance http://www.healthcare.gov/marketplace/costs/index.html
- Avoiding penalties for not buying health coverage
So, to avoid a penalty for not buying insurance, a household would have to determine the annual premiums on one of the lowest-quality plans in a state exchange, figure out how much of a tax credit their income would entitle them to, and then calculate if the resulting out-of-pocket expense was more than 8 percent of their household’s modified adjusted gross income. If it was, they would not pay a penalty if they decided not to buy health insurance.
- Use the calculater
The Kaiser Family Foundation has built a Health Reform Subsidy Calculator that helps simplify this complicated calculation. The Kaiser Family Foundation Health Reform Subsidy Calculator http://healthreform.kff.org/subsidycalculator.aspx
To be CLEAR on Penalties:
“Most people think of it as an annual penalty,” notes Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at Kaiser. “But it is in fact a monthly thing, and you would pay a penalty for any month that you are uncovered.” However, a person may be without coverage for up to three months without triggering the penalty.
Still confused?
Well you are not alone, as of March 21st 2013, about 48 percent of Americans acknowledge they know nothing about their state’s plans for insurance exchanges and Medicaid, and 78 percent knew little about their governor’s stance on the Medicaid issue. (2013 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/upload/8425-F.pdf)
- STATE BY STATE GUIDE FOR MEDICARE EXPANSION
- IRS: Frequently Asked Questions
In summary:
A whopping 74% of American’s understand ONE THING about Obama- Care; the individual mandate requires the public to obtain Health Insurance or pay fines and penalties to the IRS on their 2014 tax returns. And, the IRS knows what to charge you and how to collect penalties if you don’t show up next tax season with “proof of insurance”. The bottom line is that this new federal law is not something US citizens can simply ignore or play ignorant to. In the long run, this law simply gave the IRS and the Federal government more control over our lives, our choices, our freedoms, and ultimately it has nothing to do with our health. God Bless the United States of America, because we’re going to need it.
The Truth Denied will keep you updated on any changes being made in congress that affect the American People in regards to Health Reform. Feel free to write us with your questions at info@thetruthdenied.com
The Truth Denied
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