We are now able to make changes to our individual health insurance plans under Obamacare open enrollment period begins on November 15th.  We help people with updating and purchasing their individual health insurance on the marketplace (www.healthcare.gov) when you are looking to get a subsidy to help pay for the health insurance coverage for you and your family.

You can enroll with an licensed agent that will be your advocate to assist you with selecting a plan, and supporting you for any issues you have with your policy.  Enrollment period for 2014 is from November 15 to February 15th.  If you want to have a January 1st effective date, you must submit your application by December 15th.

Do you think you are eligible for a subsidy, below is a table to help you determine if you should look at going through the healthcare.gov with the help of an agent.  Below is simplified table to assist you in determining your particular situation.  Remember you are estimating your 2015 income.

My suggestion for health insurance subsidies is that you should be cautious on your income levels, if anything estimate on the high side as you may have to pay back subsidies if you underestimate your earning for 2015.  If you estimate too low and your income comes in much higher, you may need to pay back thousands of dollars on your 2015 taxes.

We definitely help our clients find the best plan for their situation if they are enrolling with Healthcare.gov or if they are enrolling direct with the carriers.  If you are looking at enrolling and you are eligible for subsidies, you can select the Silver Plans first.  If you subsidy is enough you end up in the cost sharing band.   When you are in this band, you will received lower deductible and max out of pocket with the premium subsidies.   You could end up with a Silver plan with a $500 deductible with $750 annual max out of pocket.  I did run into some people who did enroll with the plan Bronze plan, because they did not notice the plan deductible savings on the Silver plans.  I did talk with them as they were disappointed in the choice that had made when they did it by them self.

The bottom line is that you should work with an agent who can best advise you for coverage either on or off of the Healthcare.gov site.  There is no charge for the help and you would have an agent that will assist you with any questions or problems you may have.  Don’t miss the enrollment window for Obamacare as to have a January 1st effective date you must submit an application by December 15th.  For 2014 the Open Enrollment Period is from November 15th to February 15th 2015.  If you do not make changes during this time, you can not purchase health insurance unless you have a valid qualifying event.