Obamacare: employer’s plan costs too much

My employer offers insurance and I can sign up but the premiums are high and the coverage low. Can I just wait and get insurance through Affordable Care Act?

Non-groupie

Dear Non-Groupie,   

Your employer’s plan may be changing, in order to comply with the health reform rules. Under the rules, an employee can pay up to 9.5% of his/her income to join the plan (covering yourself). There are no rules about how much covering your spouse can cost, however.

The coverage might also get better. Health reform sets standards for what employer plans have to cover and how high deductibles and co-pays can be.

If your employer’s plan meets health reform rules, then you would not qualify for a subsidy to buy health insurance on the exchange or marketplace. So, you could buy a plan “off exchange” if you wanted to.  This means that you would be paying full price for a non-group (also known as individual) plan.  This would likely be more expensive than joining your employer’s plan.

Linda Riddell

About Linda Riddell

A published author and health policy analyst with 25 years’ experience, Linda Riddell's goal is to alleviate the widespread ailment of not knowing what your health plan can do for you.