Question:
Profile:
Health Insurance Shopper, requesting individual medical insurance quotes.
Status:
Currently insured by Employer Group Plan.
My job may be ending and my spouse and I are on my plan. So we’re being proactive to look at what our options are.
We are super healthy, very few medical needs, a couple of prescriptions, that’s it, so a high deductible would likely be okay – especially if preventative medicine is fully covered.
I would hope to not be unemployed for ever and would hope to eventually have another employer supported plan, but for right now, we are just *exploring* what the plans look like and how much they would cost.
Answer:
Our agency’s response emailed by:
Caroline Ehrenthal, Licensed Insurance Agent
President/CEO of East Coast Health Insurance
If your employer sponsored plan is terminated and/or you do not opt into a Cobra plan option that may be extended to you once you terminate your employment then that would be considered a qualifying life event and yield a 60 day special enrollment period in which you could enroll into an Affordable Care Act plan.I could check to see if you would be eligible for a tax credit which would be based on your household size, ages, smoker statuses and total projected household income for this year (which I understand could change once you secure a new position).We could also compare that with a Short Term Major medical policy which sounds like you would qualify for since you don’t have any pre-existing conditions. It is a viable alternative however, you need to be aware that those are less expensive (especially if you are not eligible for a tax credit) because they are medically underwritten and can deny someone coverage based on their pre-existing conditions.They also do not cover pre-existing conditions and do not meet the requirement of being considered minimum essential coverage so you could be subject to the tax penalty or individual responsibility payment (2.5% of the household income or maximum $2085 or prorated amount if you did not have minimum essential coverage for at least 10 months out of the year).I hope this helps – give us a call once you know when you’re going to be losing coverage.Thanks,Caroline
If you think you may be eligible for a qualifying event, please feel free to email us at [email protected] or call 888.803.5917.
Licensed agents are available to assist you with your questions – even if you aren’t sure what you may qualify for.
