The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been very effective in reducing the number of uninsured residents in the United States. There are many benefits, but one of the most significant responsibilities that goes along with receiving them is that you must purchase insurance or face a significant penalty from the Internal Revenue Service. The 2016 penalty will increase this year to $695 per adult and $347.50 for each child, or 2.5% of income.
Children are actually one of the easiest groups to cover since the Government has in place a program at the Federal level called CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). It is a form of Medicaid designed to make sure all children are covered. And it is very easy to apply. All you do is call 1-877-543-7669. Answer some questions and then they mail you a form to sign and send back with supporting documents. Within 45 days, your children are covered to visit doctors and access any needed medical services.
For adults needing insurance, there are several options. The main website for the enrollment process is
DCHealthLink.com. It is a comprehensive site that can guide you through the process of signing up for insurance. After creating an account, you will answer several questions about your present insurance coverage and your income to determine if you are eligible for subsidies to help pay for your coverage. The subsidies make the insurance extremely affordable.
Another advantage of the Affordable Care Act is that you may have a better chance of getting Medicaid. In states that chose to expand Medicaid (D.C. and Maryland accepted the Medicaid expansion, Virginia did not) the eligibility amount was increased to as much as 132 percent of the Federal poverty level.
One important thing to realize is that in order to avoid paying a penalty when you file your taxes, you must have been insured under a qualified insurance plan. For example, there are some things that DC Healthy Alliance does not cover and it is possible you may wind up paying a penalty since the plan does not meet the standards set forth in The Affordable Care Act. If you are presently covered under DC Healthy Alliance, it is highly advisable that you apply through DC Health Link to make sure that the coverage you obtain will comply with the ACA.
Another thing to know is that if you did not have insurance for at least three consecutive months, you may be subject to the tax penalty unless you meet one of the exemptions. There are several for 2015 that you should know about: you do not have to pay the fine if you were homeless, were evicted or faced foreclosure, are a domestic abuse victim, had filed for bankruptcy within six months, received a shut off notice for your utilities, suffered a fire or flood, someone in your immediate family died, or if you could get insurance through your employer or a marketplace and the cost would exceed 8.05% of your household income, which would make it unaffordable under the ACA.
If you are a young adult you have two options: stay on your parent’s policy until the age of 26 or purchase a catastrophic policy. That is similar to a high deductible policy that has you covering the majority of the expenses until you meet the (very high) deductible.
To get started, visit DCHealthLink.com or call 855-532-5465. You’ll need a copy of your tax return or a pay stub that will show your income, and you will need to provide your social security number and you may need to provide proof of citizenship (driver’s license, birth certificate, etc.)
There are several enrollment centers staffed with assistants and brokers to help you navigate the process too: Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library (901 G St NW); the Unity Health Care Minnesota Ave Clinic (3924 Minnesota Ave NE); the Unity Health Care Anacostia Health Center (1500 Galen St SE); Whitman-Walker Health (Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center 1701 14th St NW); Community of Hope Marie Reed Health Center (2250 Champlain St NW); Community of Hope Conway Health and Resource Center (4 Atlantic St SW); Community of Hope Family Health and Birth Center (801 17th St NE); Mary’s Center (3912 Georgia Ave NW); and the DC One Touch Enrollment Center with identity verification and bilingual help (Carlos Rosario International Charter School at 1100 Harvard St NW).
Contact the locations for hours. Most are open several days a week. Make sure to apply today. The deadline for open enrollment is January 30.
