Choosing the best health insurance plan for your family and their needs seems like it might be an easy job, but it’s not. With Obamacare and the new Affordable Care Act, choosing the best health insurance plan for your family is an ordeal. You have to have a plan now, or you will be fined when it comes time to file your income tax return. You have to apply through the Obamacare portal as individual health insurance providers are no longer offering insurance policies the way that did a few years back. As someone who always had an individual policy for myself while my husband and children were on my husband’s insurance through work, I am highly frustrated at the way the new healthcare system works and how much I am now required to pay for my insurance (because I thought it was supposed to be affordable, and it’s now three times what I paid before the government stepped in and decided to make a mess of my own insurance).
Open enrollment is currently going on (November 1 – January 31) and it is all the time that you have to choose a new policy. If you already have a policy, it automatically rolls over. However, we are going to discuss why you shouldn’t just let it go at that. When choosing the best health insurance plan for your family for 2016, there are a few things you should know; a few tips that will help you make the most of your policy.
Check What’s New
Many insurance providers have offered new policies and coverage for the New Year, and now is as good a time as any to go ahead and get with the program so you can see which ones are the best for you. Even if you already have what you believe is the best health insurance plan through your company, look again to see if there is anything more beneficial to you being offered in the coming year.
Check your Income
Even if your plan is rolling over, now is a good time to go ahead and re-enter your income if it’s changed in the past year. If you make less money this year, you have had a baby or you have had any other life changes (a job loss, new job, marriage, divorce, baby, adoption, or a move), you will want to check to see if your policy will change, if you will be offered a subsidy to help you pay for the cost of your health care and so on.
Update Your Information
If you fail to update your information because you feel it did not change too much, you might realize that it was a bad idea when it comes to filing your 2016 taxes a year from now. If your income increased and you were receiving a subsidy to help you pay your insurance premiums, you might find that now you have to pay back a portion of that subsidy. Update your information now so that you can get the best health insurance plan for your family for the New Year.
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