Page 24 - Kiplinger's Personal Finance - November 2018

■ AFTER SHOPPING FOR
A NEW POLICY ON HIS
MONEY SPECIAL REPORT STATE’S INSURANCE
EXCHANGE, ROSS VOLPE
FOUND A PLAN THAT
COSTS HIM JUST
$60 A MONTH.
drug discount card, says Paul Rooney,
of eHealthInsurance.com, which sells
both short-term and ACA-compliant
policies. They can also have annual
or lifetime caps on coverage, such as
$500,000 or $1 million, says Sakamoto,
who generally only recommends them
for a few months.

Strategies to qualify for the subsidy. If
your income is close to the cutoff, you
may be able to lower your income to
qualify for a subsidy. Contributions
to a 401(k), a health savings account,
or a health care or dependent care
flexible spending account can help
reduce your modified adjusted gross
income, which is used in the subsidy
calculation. Early retirees—who pay
some of the steepest premiums with-
out a subsidy—often have flexibility to
reduce withdrawals from tax-deferred
retirement savings.
Leanne and Carl Bryson have been
buying health insurance on their
own since Carl retired from Apple
four years ago, at age 59. When the
Sacramento couple looked at eHealth Use the calculators at www.health a lot more if you go out of network—
Insurance.com to compare rates for care.gov to compare the after-subsidy and a growing number of plans don’t
policies with and without a subsidy, costs of policies you’re shopping for. provide out-of-network coverage at all,
they decided it was worthwhile to Estimate your income carefully. If except for emergencies. Check to see
tighten their belts to qualify for the you end up earning more than the whether the hospitals you want to use
subsidy until they are old enough for cutoff, you’ll have to pay back the sub- are still included.
Medicare. They are withdrawing less sidy when you file your taxes; if you Ross Volpe, 34, a professional disc
money from their 401(k)s and IRAs in earn less, you’ll get extra money back jockey who lives in Arlington, Va., has
order to keep their modified adjusted at tax time. income from a variety of sources: DJ
gross income below the $65,840 cut- In addition to comparing post- gigs (he just won a national competi-
off. They also cut back on travel and subsidy premiums, estimate your out- tion), private lessons, and teaching
gifts to their grandkids. of-pocket costs for the type of care you classes and camps at the Beat Refinery
Even with the subsidy, their cover- use and prescription drugs you take, in Bethesda, Md. Even though he qual-
age was becoming unaffordable. The and compare the plan’s maximum ifies for a subsidy, his share of the pre-
full price for their policy was set to out-of-pocket spending limits and miums after the subsidy have still
rise to $3,200 per month in 2018, provider networks. Don’t assume your increased steadily every year—from
which would still cost them $1,800 doctors will still be covered by the $45 per month for a CareFirst Blue
with the subsidy. They went back to plan’s network in 2019. “In our survey, Cross Blue Shield PPO plan in 2014,
eHealthInsurance.com during open 36% of carriers said they’re planning to $212 per month in 2017. His premi-
enrollment last fall and looked into to restrict their networks next year,” ums were about to go up to $320 per
alternatives. “In California, we’re says Rooney, of eHealthInsurance month in 2018—after a $200 subsidy.
lucky that we have a lot of options, but .com, which has a provider search tool “I couldn’t do that anymore,” he says.
they can be pricey,” Leanne says. The to look up which plans your doctors He shopped around for other options
couple switched to an HMO that cost belong to. during open enrollment last year and
them $850 per month after the sub- You may be able to lower your pre- found a Kaiser Permanente HMO plan
sidy, in exchange for a smaller pro- miums by switching to a plan with a that cost him just $60 per month with
vider network. smaller network, but you’ll have to pay the subsidy.

32 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 11/2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN DONNELL

K11M-HEALTH INSURANCE.indd 32 9/20/18 12:03 PM