Bernardini & Donovan Insurance Services

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Do You Qualify For The Special Enrollment Period?

Understanding Eligibility Of The Special Enrollment Period With the deadline for the second Obamacare open enrollment period now in the rear view mirror, many individuals who failed to obtain health insurance before the deadline will soon be receiving penalties in the mail. Due to the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, each and every one of us is now required to obtain health coverage or receive a penalty. If you want to avoid penalties, you must obtain health insurance. However, there is one way out of this requirement: the special enrollment period. The special enrollment period provides an individual with varying circumstances a second chance at enrolling for health care. However, you must experience one of the many qualifying life events in order to be eligible for the special enrollment period. Life events that may make you eligible to take advantage of the special enrollment period and avoid penalties include:

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I Forgot To Enroll For Health Insurance – Now What?

Understanding Penalties Under Obamacare Since fees were not implemented during the first trial of enrolling in the new health insurance marketplace, the first Obamacare open enrollment period proved to fall short of successful. However, now that enforced penalties mean that you will be faced with a fee if you do not have health coverage, it seems that many enrolled before February 15th passed. If you failed to obtain health coverage before the open enrollment deadline passed, you will be faced with a penalty until the third Obamacare open enrollment period arrives. Therefore, it is important that you understand why you are being penalized and how much. Gathered are some helpful guiding points for determining how much your penalty for not enrolling for health insurance will be: Failing To Have Coverage In 2015: Two calculations are made to determine your penalty amount. Of the two below, you will need to pay

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Choosing Health Coverage For Your Small Business

Understanding The SHOP Marketplace Small business owners across the country have been experiencing change as they are now legally required to comply with new regulations and requirements under the Affordable Care Act. Since the world of health insurance and health care has transformed completely, choosing the right small business health insurance plans to best protect your team is more challenging. If you missed the open enrollment deadline on February 15th and are beginning to panic since you have not properly set up your small business plans, do not fret! We can still write you a policy for your small business. A unique entity known as the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace allows small business owners to obtain the coverage they are required to offer their team, despite missed deadlines. When utilizing plans offered in SHOP, you have the luxury of avoiding restricted enrollment periods and offer deadlines. There

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Do You Qualify For A Subsidy?

Discerning The Aid You Can Secure For Your Health Insurance With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) changing healthcare in the United States, it can be difficult to understand exactly what kind of support the government can offer you. According to the ACA, the government now offers subsidies to make healthcare more affordable for eligible parties. These are tax credits that are available for lower income families and individuals. To qualify for subsidies, you must live in the United States, be a citizen of the US or lawfully residing in the country, not be in jail, and have a household income level of four times the federal poverty level or less. This means that if your Modified Adjusted Gross Income is between 100% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Level you can qualify for tax credits to help you cover the expense of your health care. How much reimbursement can you

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How Affordability Is Determined Under ACA

Understanding What Qualifies Coverage As Affordable The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has changed the face of healthcare in the United States in an effort to make securing health insurance affordable for every American. What, exactly, qualifies as affordable coverage? It cannot just be a vague idea, as the government now requires all businesses that employ a certain number of people to offer affordable coverage to their employees. So how, then, is affordability defined? According to ACA standards, a plan is considered affordable if it costs 9.5 percent or less of the individual it covers income. As an employer, how can you know if your plan will be affordable for your employees? There are a few safe harbors you can use to avoid being hit with penalty fees. First, you can reference Box 1 on your employee’s W-2, where he or she will have to report his or her taxable income.

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ACA Penalty Fees

Your Guide To The Tax Penalties Of The Affordable Care Act If you have not yet secured health insurance for 2015, do not wait. The open enrollment period (the time during which you can secure an individual health insurance plan) ends on February 15th, and if you do not have the coverage required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by that time you may be subject to tax penalties. What kind of coverage should you have to avoid those fees? You need a major medical health insurance plan. According to the ACA, these plans include coverage for emergency services, pediatric services, laboratory services, rehabilitative services and devices, mental health/substance abuse services, preventative/wellness services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, ambulatory patient services, and prescription drugs. If you do not have major medical health insurance for three continuous months, you will be hit with penalties when you file your taxes. These penalties

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