Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace

No. federal applications don’t update themselves. Besides, the federal government only knows what you reported on your last tax return which will be a full 2 years older than the household income estimate they want. The rate you pay for coverage in 2020 (for example) is supposed to be based on your 2020 tax return that you will actually be filing in 2021. If you’re applying for 2020 Open Enrollment Period 11/1/2019-12/15/2019, the last tax return you filed was in 2019 for your 2018 taxes. The whole premise of the health insurance market place is that you are paying a monthly rate that is commensurate with your income for the year you are being covered. In this example, your 2020 monthly payment is based on your estimated 2020 final household income. therefore, your 2020 household income must be an estimate. Click the Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace “Get A Quote & Enroll / Re-Enroll” icon to update your federal application or risk paying too much (or too little)for your plan.

Yes. However, your rate could either go up or even go down. Each month, your chosen insurance company receives 2 payments on your behalf. The 1st is from the federal government in the form of your Advanced premium Tax Credit (APTC). The 2ndis from you. Depending on how your updated household income estimate relates to the new federal poverty level guidelines (100% -400% of the poverty level), that will determine how much the federal government will be paying on your behalf for the following year. Sometimes it’s more than last year and sometimes it’s less. Click the Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace “Get A Quote & Enroll / Re-Enroll” icon between November 1 and December 15 to re-enroll and enroll in the health insurance marketplace to see how your monthly rate will change for the upcoming calendar year. Please don’t wait until after December 16th.

Yes. The names of the plans may stay the same but quite often either the co-pays and/or the deductibles generally change as well. Every year, each private insurance company participating in the Affordable Care Act in Georgia conducts comprehensive actuarial studies to determine whether or not increases in co-pays and/or deductibles are warranted. Although they must follow federal guidelines, the pattern has been apparent since the initial 2013 ACA rollout. Generally speaking, co-pays and/or deductibles have increased every year. From November 1 through December 15, click the “Get A Quote & Enroll / Re-Enroll” icon at the Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace website to see if there have been changes to your current plan. At that time, you’ll have a better idea whether or not you want to enroll in a market place plan that may have lower co-pays and/or deductibles or re-enroll in the plan you already have using your updated following year household income estimate.

No, your insurance company doesn’t complete your enrollment, but you will end up being auto-re-enrolled by the federal government on December 16th, the day after Open Enrollment Period ends. The problem with that is that each year (on November 1) the rate increases for each insurance company for each of Georgia’s 159 counties becomes known and can be determined (based on your income). Finding out your new payment for the upcoming year in late December is not the time to make a change. Go to the Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace’s “Get A Quote & Enroll / Re-Enroll” icon between November 1 and December 15, and you won’t end up receiving any unwelcome surprises. It’s always best if you yourself complete your current market place plan enrollment. Auto-re-enrollment creates too many unwanted surprises.

Yes. However, the marketplace will have already re-created your application data so it won’t take long. Even if you think that your household income projection for the upcoming year hasn’t changed, what you don’t know is what you put down in the application before. If your estimated household income for the following year is different than it’s in your existing federal application, then you’re either paying too much (or too little) for your existing plan. You could choose another plan (from the same or different insurer) or keep the plan you have. Your own upcoming IRS Form 1095 A reflects the income you put in your application and not the income in your federal tax return. When you re-enroll in the healthcare market place through Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace, those 2 amounts should be similar. Otherwise there can be federal income tax consequences and reduced tax refunds. “Get a Quote & Enroll / Re-Enroll” to make sure you’re not paying too much (or too little).

Yes. If you have a prior or existing application and enrollment, all of the data inside your existing federal application has been saved in order to save you time. There’s no need to answer all of the questions. However, it is highly recommended that you update your federal application, particularly as it relates to household income information. Go to the Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace“Get a Quote & Enroll / Re-Enroll”icon to get started and then estimate your household income for the following year (in which your upcoming coverage will begin). You may not be able to estimate the exact same income that you will put in your actual application for market place plan,(there are easy estimating tools inside the application)but try to be as accurate as possible during the first opportunity to estimate your household income. The homepage of our website provides helpful guidance on what to do and what not to do when estimating household income.