Issue link: http://accesshealth.uberflip.com/i/449525
7/ TheBucknerClarion.com January 22, 2015 Get Fit, Get Healthy Part 2: You Can Still Get Health Insurance. Starting in 2014, financial assistance became available to help you pay your premiums (monthly fees) for health insurance. The amount of assistance you can get depends on how much money your family earns and how many people are in your family. What kind of financial assistance is available? If you buy insurance through your state's health insurance marketplace, you may be able to get financial assistance to help pay your monthly premiums for health insurance. The marketplace will pay your health insurance company for part of the premium, and you will pay the rest. Who can get financial assistance to pay for health insurance? You must lawfully live in the United States and are not currently in jail or prison. You can't get affordable health insurance that covers your basic health care needs through your job (or a family member's job), Medicaid, Medicare, the Children's Health Insurance Program, or the Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA). The amount of money your family expects to make in the year you want financial assistance falls within the following amounts: Yearly household income in 2014 was $11,670 - $46,680 for a single person; $15,730 - $62,920 for a family of two; $19,790 - $79,160 for a family of three; and $23,850 - $95,400 for a family of four. If your family makes less money than what is listed in the table, you may qualify for Medicaid. Fill out the same application through the marketplace (HealthCare.gov) to find out. If you are a lawfully present immigrant who is not eligible for Medicaid, you can get financial assistance if your family makes less money than what is listed in the table. In order to get financial assistance to help pay for health insurance, you must buy insurance through the marketplace and file federal taxes for the year you get this assistance. For example, if you want to get financial assistance with your premiums in 2015, you'll need to file federal taxes for 2015. How do I apply for financial assistance? You use the same application to apply for health insurance and financial assistance. You can apply online at www.HealthCare.gov. You can also use a paper application. If you have questions, there are people available to help you in person. After you apply, you will find out how much financial assistance you can get. When the marketplace figures out how much financial assistance your family can get, it counts everyone listed on your family's tax return, including the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, and their dependents. Married couples must file taxes jointly (as a couple) when they get financial assistance. When and how will I get this financial assistance? You can get financial assistance to help pay your monthly premiums in three ways: Right away. The marketplace sends your financial assistance directly to your health insurance company, which means that you pay less each month for premiums. (This is sometimes called an "advance premium tax credit.") At tax time. If you pay the full amount of your premium each month, your financial assistance starts at tax time. At tax time, the amount of assistance you would have gotten is taken out of any amount that you owe in taxes. So if you owe taxes, you'll pay back less money. And if you don't owe taxes, you can get back the amount of your financial assistance as a refund. Some right away and some at tax time. The marketplace sends part of your financial assistance directly to your health insurance company, which means that you pay less each month for premiums. You get back the rest of the financial assistance that you are owed when you do your taxes (see "At tax time" above). How much less will I have to pay for health insurance if I get financial assistance? The amount of financial assistance you get depends on your income. People with low incomes get more assistance than people with higher incomes. Why wouldn't I want to use all of my financial assistance right away? The amount of financial assistance that you receive right away is based on what you think your family's income will be that year and how many people are in your family at the time you apply. But after you get your financial assistance, things can change. You might wind up earning more money, or the number of people in your family could change (you could get married, for example). And because the financial assistance that you get right away is based on what you originally put down when you applied, if that information changes during the year, then you may have to pay back money at tax time. That's because the amount of assistance you are supposed to get is based on how much your family actually earned and how many people are actually in your family at the end of the year (and on your tax return). When you do your taxes, you will find out if you used the right amount of financial assistance to help pay your premiums during the year. If you used too much, you will have to pay some of it back. If you used less than the full amount, you will get back that extra money as a refund or as a discount on any taxes you owe. How much is the penalty if I stay uninsured? If you don't have health insurance you will pay a penalty when you file your federal income taxes in 2015, unless you qualify for an exemption. The penalty will be the larger amount of either a flat rate or a percentage of income. The exact amount will depend on your family size. For instance, the penalty is the larger amount of 2 percent of income, $325 per adult and $162.50 per child (up Information provided by FamiliesUSA.org COVERAGE TIERS to $975 for a family). These fees will increase in 2016.