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How Much Does Insurance Cost?

Medical insurance and health care money concept. Female doctor wSince everyone is now required to have health insurance, the question on everyone’s mind is, “How Much Does it Cost?”  Well, it depends….  Not a very satisfying answer for sure.  

Why does insurance costs vary?  Costs are determined by your current health, age and income.  If you are young and healthy, you will pay less than someone who is middle aged and has some health issues.

Premium v. Out of Pocket Costs:  It is important to not only look at the cost of the insurance premiums each month but also the over all costs of care.  You might think that a $250/month premium is very expensive.  After all, that is $3,000/per year.  However, if you get sick or break a bone, your out of pocket costs for not having insurance could exceed the $3,000 cost with one hospital visit.

You Can Now Compare Prices:  One of the good things about ObamaCare is that for the first time you can compare the costs of the various health insurance that is being offered.  Prior to the health exchanges, there was no real way to know what the insurance plans cost and what was included.  You needed to be a Ph.D. in healthcare in order to compare the various plans.  Now, all the plans have to include the same basic services and the prices for the various plans are listed on the health exchange.

We have a long way to go to fixing healthcare but being able to compare prices is a good start.

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To help you make sense of ObamaCare, check out HealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: ObamaCare.

We hope this post helps you Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

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ObamaCare Penalties: Consider Your Options: VIDEO

The idea behind ObamaCare is that everyone should have health insurance. If you do not have health insurance, there are some penalities you will have to pay. In this video, healthcare expert, Lori-Ann Rickard, discusses ObamaCare penalties and various options you may want to consider if you find that your premiums are too expensive at this time.

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If you’re young and healthy, you may believe that you’re better off to pay a penalty and not have insurance.  You want to remember that even a fairly minor health problem such as a broken bone or having your appendix taken out can cost a lot of money which you had not planned on spending.   Having insurance can protect you from that sudden financial crisis.

To help you make sense of your insurance options, HealthSpin is preparing Easy Healthcare:  Choosing an Insurance Plan.   COMING SOON!!!

We hope this post helps you Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

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Must I Have Health Insurance?

Wellness x Illness creative sign with clouds as the backgroundThe short answer is “yes.”  Under ObamaCare, everyone must have health insurance with very few exceptions.  If you don’t have insurance, you’ll have to pay a penalty.

But before you get discouraged, download HealthSpin’s guide Easy Healthcare:  ObamaCare to help make ObamaCare simple.

Under the law,anyone who doesn’t have insurance from their employer or a government-sponsored program like Medicare or Medicaid must have health insurance.  

But if you don’t have health insurance from one of these sources, you can buy insurance from a Health Exchange. Some states have their own health exchange and some don’t.  If your state doesn’t have its own heath exchange, you can buy insurance from www.healthcare.gov.

Surprisingly, only about 20% of the population will have to buy insurance from the health exchanges since most people have insurance from another source.

The penalty for not having insurance is 2% of your household income or a maximum of $325/person.  For a family, the maximum penalty is $975/person.  You’ll have to pay the penalty with your federal income tax.  So if you don’t have insurance in 2015, you’ll pay the penalty when you file your 2015 tax return in 2016.

The penalty increases each year.

There are some limited exceptions:

  1. There is no penalty if you are uninsured for less than 3 months.
  2. If the cost of coverage would be more than 8% of your income, there is no penalty.
  3. If your income is too low to file a federal tax return, there is no penalty.

If you’re young and healthy, you may believe that you’re better off to pay a penalty and not have insurance.  You want to remember that even a fairly minor health problem such as a broken bone or having your appendix taken out can cost a lot of money which you had not planned on spending.   Having insurance can protect you from that sudden financial crisis.

To help you make sense of your insurance options, HealthSpin is preparing Easy Healthcare:  Choosing an Insurance Plan.   COMING SOON!!!

We hope this post helps you Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!