By now you know that you can start shopping for affordable health insurance at www.healthcare.gov, where you will learn about the insurance policies available on the New Jersey exchange as well as whether you qualify for government subsidies to offset the cost of insurance, and if you qualify for the Medicaid expansion. Considering the catastrophic cost of even one uninsured trip to an emergency room for medical treatment, getting insurance now through the exchange or through the Medicaid expansion should be a real lifesaver for your family. Whether you are employed without insurance, or receiving unemployment or Disability Income benefits, such as Social Security Disability — or your case is pending — get started with this enrollment process and find a plan that works for you.
1. We are in a six-month open enrollment period that began October 1, 2013 and runs to March 31, 2014, to get insurance that will start in 2014.
2. If you want to have coverage effective Jan. 1st, 2014, be sure to enroll and pay your first premium by Dec. 15, 2013. If you do so after Dec. 15, your start date for coverage will be delayed by as much as 6 weeks.
3. Most people who don’t have insurance coverage by Jan. 1, 2014 will face a tax penalty of $95 for individual adults or 1 percent of their income, whichever is higher.
4. After Mar. 31, 2014, you can only enroll in the exchange’s insurance if you have a “qualifying life event,” such as losing your job, having a child, or getting divorced.
5. Each year there is another 6-month opportunity to enroll, from October 15 to March 31, but if you haven’t enrolled by December 7th, there will be tax penalties that go up each year as of the upcoming Jan. 1.
6. The tax penalties will be $325 for individual adults or 2 percent of income, whichever is higher, if you’re not enrolled by Jan. 1, 2015. They will be $695 or 2.5 percent of income, whichever is higher, if you’re not enrolled by Jan. 1, 2016.
Source/more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101065523