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The American Rescue Plan Act and Healthcare in Washington State

 



Here at Wenatchee Insurance, we have been working with Healthcare because of the Affordable Care Act. Matt has been writing insurance for nearly a decade. He transitioned from property from a customer request. Suzie is second generation Insurance coming over from being a Pharmacy Technician for nearly two decades. We are going on five years of running the enrollment center in Wenatchee with the Healthplanfinder. 

Give us a call (509-295-9055) or grab an appointment if you could use some help navigating health insurance. We charge zero fees. 


The Affordable Care Act had a historic number of hours of debate and amendments during Committee development.  It was a massive law covering insurance coverages, healthcare costs and preventative care. It added protective rights called the Patient Bill of Rights that protected consumers, required insurance to cover 10 essential health benefits, a means for those with low income to get coverage and a new way for the public to shop for healthcare. It is important to note that the ACA has been attacked from the beginning which has created shortcomings and no federal updates until now. 



Here is a Facebook interview with Representative Kim Schrier and the Healthplanfinder. 

The American Rescue Plan was signed into law March 11 by President Biden. While it put $1400 in stimulus payments into tax payer's hands, it also expanded access to healthcare by lowering costs significantly. We are going to focus on the healthcare savings today.

An average of four out of five consumers currently enrolled in Marketplace coverage can now find a plan for $10 or less per month after financial assistance.


For the next two years, we are going to have more help in lowering costs. Here are the big ones: 

  • Up to 150% of poverty level, will be zero cost premium plans.
  • The financial cliff has been removed and people over 400% of poverty can receive a discount.
  • If you were eligible for unemployment income (UI) for 2021 then you are eligible for extra help regardless of current income.
  • If you give birth then you will be on Apple Health for 1 year so new moms can worry less. 

Samples:


At the Enrollment Center we have been using a calculator to help determine savings as it will not go live in the Washington Healthplanfinder until May 6th! The customers will not see the saving until June. Yes, you can be a couple in your 60s, making $200,000+ and get help lowering your healthcare cost. 

Declaring your income on the Healthplanfinder is not easy for people. The only thing tougher than understanding healthcare at times is understanding future income. Having a second pair of eyes on these things helps and confidential information stays confidential. In addition to the ACA, the enrollment center falls under HIPAA, Financial Modernization Act and a few others

If you were eligible for Unemployment Income then you want to declare it because it can lower your costs significantly. 

always report income changes


This is not easy for everyone. There are 40,000 people that are enrolled without entering in their income information. If they want the cost savings then the easiest way to do it is update the account prior to May 1st. Use us or one of the 11 enrollment centers located around the state. 

Using an Enrollment Center helps

Not everyone's premium will be reduced. If someone pays less than 8.5% of their income on premium. If someone that does not qualify for example DACA recipients are blocked from getting healthcare through an exchange (except in California). If your employer offers coverage that is deemed affordable because it costs less than 9.83% of your household income. 

To make it easy, we are doing extended enrollments through August 15 in most of the country. 

Need help then talk to the enrollment center.



Interview with Mike "Maddog" Magnotti on NCW Life talking about the Big Change. 



Great Interview with CEO/President of Coordinated Care, Beth Johnson. Great insight on what is going on with the American Rescue Act plus some sneak peaks at their enhancements for next year. 




Episode from the Suzilla, our weekly podcast. 






KPQ interview show The Agenda that was broadcast on May 27th.


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Location: 413 N Mission St, Wenatchee, WA 98801, USA

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