By Amy De Vore+

New York has decided to use “New York State of Health” as the branded name of their online Marketplace. The branding of marketplaces in states is designed to encourage and promote health insurance to the uninsured.

“In creating a name, we wanted it to be meaningful, memorable and capture the essence of what it is to be a New Yorker – that unique ‘can do’ attitude and state of mind,” said Donna Frescatore, New York State of Health’s executive director. “We’re confident the ‘NY State of Health’ name and campaign will inspire New Yorkers who are uninsured or underinsured to explore the options and choose the plan that fits their needs.”

The average NY premiums sold on the exchange, known as Bronze Plan, Silver Plan, Gold Plan, and Platinum Plan, are projected to be about half the cost they are today for individuals and family plans. This is because in 1992, New York enacted guaranteed issuance regardless of preexisting condition without an individual mandate. The lack of the mandate caused premiums to skyrocket. As of January 1, 2014 there is an individual mandate in all states. The mandate is in place so that premiums do not fall into the trap that New York fell into. On average premiums in New York cost $9,000 per year, with 1 in 7 New Yorkers living without insurance.

For your specific premium rate in New York call 800-930-7956 or contact Medicoverage for assistance.

By Amy De Vore+

New York released its ObamaCare monthly premiums. For most of the nation it was sticker shock, but for New Yorkers they seem to be getting a better deal with the new Bronze Plan, Silver Plan, Gold Plan, and Platinum Plan.

You may be asking how can there be a huge savings when the average monthly premium for a Platinum plan is $600 (and go up to $965)? Well, first off, we need to explain the previous premiums in New York. New York passed a law in 1992 (according to Forbes) that disallowed an insurance company from charging more or less based on age, gender, smoking, health history, as well as preexisting conditions no longer applied. So, rates were outrageous, because the young and healthy just didn’t purchase insurance. This created what is called in the insurance world as a “death spiral.” This means that only older residents and the sick were purchasing insurance, in turn skyrocketing premium costs.

Now, since there is an individual mandate, the youth will have to pay in or pay an ObamaCare tax, lowering premiums with the new plan. ObamaCare could also level out premiums even more in years to come. It is unclear if the NY state law will still hold stating that age is not a factor. If it does, young and old will stay pay the same rate for insurance, only provider, plan, and region will play a role in the price diversity. We will update this article when this information becomes clearer.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens with ObamaCare and New York to see how the premiums are handled in years to come. But as of now, monthly premiums are less for most New Yorkers. And this does not include the federal premium subsidies that will bring down monthly costs for individuals making less than $45,960 per year.

To learn if you qualify for a subsidy or to learn about health care plans available in your area call 800-930-7956 or contact Medicoverage.com.

By Amy De Vore+

The Affordable Care Act helps the uninsured in a few ways. For instance, in the LA Times today there was an article about a woman making $12.68 an hour, mother of one child, lives in Los Angeles, and recently choose to forego surgery because she was uninsured. As of January 1st this woman would have options for health coverage.

How the Affordable Care Act Helps Uninsured

She isn’t qualified for Medicaid, however since she works she may qualify for job-based insurance as 2015. Until then and if her employer doesn’t offer insurance she would qualify for premium subsidies and cost-sharing subsidies, and her daughter would qualify for Medi-Cal.

Costs for Lower-Income Families

The article doesn’t state how old she is, but if she is 30, her Silver plan premium could be as low as $93 a month and her deductible would be reduced from $2000 to $500, and a reduced maximum out of pocket from $6,350 to $2,250. This would apply to any single parent to one child living in the Los Angeles area, making her salary.

How do Lower-Income Families and Individuals Get Insurance?

First, it’s important to remember for anyone purchasing a plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace you need your W2 paperwork and financial information handy like child support, alimony, assets. Then you can either go directly through your state’s newly established call center’s navigators or you can go through your insurance agent. Many don’t realize that agents can help with on and off-Exchange plans.

Lower Income Seniors

Seniors do not have to do anything as of January 1st. Seniors stay on Medicare and do not apply for the new metal plans. Make sure your friends and parents are aware that there is nothing for them to do, because states are vocally expressing their concerns about seniors being tricked by scammers into giving away personal information due to the lack of awareness in regards to the ACA.

To learn if you qualify for a subsidy call 800-930-7956 or contact Medicoverage.