Key Takeaways
- Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) begins November 1st, 2020.
- If you don’t have medical coverage through your employer, you’ll want to check out the ACA.
- There are three possible categories to enroll in, based on your income level.
We all know the feeling of having a daunting task that seems too complicated to complete, so we put it off for days, weeks, or even months on end. If you’ve been thinking you need to look into the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for medical coverage, you may have put this task into that category of “things to procrastinate.” Well, there are some real benefits to enrolling in the ACA, so it’s worth it to take it out of procrastination mode.
Open enrollment for the ACA, also commonly known as Obamacare, begins November 1st, 2020 and runs through December 15th, 2020. Coverage then begins January 1st, 2021.
If you don’t have medical insurance through your employer, and you’re going into the marketplace to obtain coverage, then you’ll go online to www.healthcare.gov during open enrollment and enroll. You’ll find that you fall into one of three categories, depending upon your income level.
The first category is Medicaid. If your income level is less than 100% of the federal poverty level, you would qualify for Medicaid and would therefore not enroll in Obamacare.
The second category is Obamacare with subsidies. If your income is just above 100% of the federal poverty level, you may fall into this category. There is an online calculator on the ACA site to help you determine this, and it takes into consideration the number of people you’re enrolling, so the levels can vary.
The subsidies for this second category can be substantial, and keep in mind that you’re estimating your income next year based on what’s happening this year. For many people, COVID-19 has affected income levels and caused a number of them to lose their jobs entirely. If there is any small silver lining to this, it’s that your insurance costs may have decreased because your income has also decreased.
The third and final category is for those who are above a certain income level and only qualify for regular coverage through the ACA program, with no subsidies.
So if you’re in the marketplace for medical coverage, make sure to mark your calendar for November 1st and look into the ACA offerings. You may be able to save yourself some money if your circumstances have changed this year. Until next time, enjoy.