10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

Health insurance enrollment deadline approaching

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Less than three weeks remain before the Feb. 15 enrollment deadline for health insurance mandated in the Affordable Care Act. That’s the final day for people without other insurance options to sign up for federally-subsidized coverage.

“These are significant tax credits,” said Perry Bryant, executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care. “The average in West Virginia is about $300 a month, $3,600 a year, to help make their premiums more affordable, so they’re significant.

Bryant claims “a significant number of West Virginians” will qualify for the tax credit, which won’t be available after Feb. 15.

Last year, 86 percent of West Virginians who enrolled for insurance through www.healthcare.gov qualified for some amount of assistance, Bryant said.

As of Jan. 16, officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported 27,471 West Virginians had enrolled or re-enrolled for healthcare coverage through the state’s federally-run insurance marketplace.

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is the only company offering plans on the state’s exchange. Additionally, Highmark company representatives said thousands of others have enrolled for coverage directly with the company, what is referred to as “off-exchange.”

The enrollment portal is through www.healthcare.gov or by calling 1-800-318-2596. For enrollment assistance, go to bewv.com. In-person enrollment assistance is also available at sites throughout West Virginia like senior centers, physician offices and other healthcare locations.

When filing their 2014 taxes, those who did not have health insurance last year will pay fines of $95 per adult or one percent of a family’s income, whichever is greater.

For next year, tax penalties for people who do not have health insurance will climb to $325 per adult or 2 percent of a family’s income. The penalty will grow even larger in 2016.

Nationwide, during the ninth weekly open enrollment snapshot, more than 7 million people had selected a plan or were automatically re-enrolled through the federally-facilitated marketplaces.





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