It's that time of year again - Here's what "Obamacare" looks like for 2018:
Bottom Line: By now you're well aware of the many false starts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. You're also aware of the President's recent executive action to abide by the federal court ruling identifying the subsidy payments to health insurance companies for exchange-based policies as illegal. What you might not know that's important as we're a day away from open enrollment for 2018 policies at Healthcare.gov is this... No actions that have been attempted or taken by this Congress or administration have any impact over the policies and costs associated with them on the exchange(s). The earliest there could be any impact would be for 2019 policies. So if you are seeking policies on healthcare.gov (the federal exchange that Floridians use for ACA policies) what will you find?
- Open enrollment for ACA policies occurs from 11/1 - 12/15 (shorter than prior years)
- 34% average increases for exchange based policies
- Subsidies available for those who earn $48,000 or less
There are also fewer plans available again this year but Florida is among the states least impacted by plans being pulled by insurance companies. There's a good chance that this will be the last year of the ACA as currently constructed (if for no other reason than the failure of the insurance imbalances and companies that'll likely continue to abandon the exchanges - especially with subsidy payments in question). But for today it's important to not be confused by the information flow. If you're looking for an exchange based policy...Here's the link to get started: https://www.healthcare.gov/