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Historical February–March 2014 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
With the federal Health Insurance Marketplace now up and running, Missourians have the opportunity to become part of the growing population of Americans who have affordable, quality health care coverage within their reach.
This marketplace, made available by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), allows Missourians to compare health care options using side-byside information regarding price, quality and benefits for each health plan under consideration.
To sign up visit www.healthcare. gov. Users will then create an account, fill out the application, compare plans and get coverage.
The website is shutdown for repairs from 1-5 a.m. daily, until the repairs have been completed. • Enroll by Dec. 23, to be covered by Jan. 1, 2014. • Enroll by March 31, to avoid a penalty. • Penalty for not having insurance is $95 a year or 1 percent of household income.
There will be a new box on your W-2 tax form to verify health insurance. • Fill out an application at www. healthcare.gov to see if you qualify for a discount or tax credit.
There are several ways to learn more about the ACA or the federal Health Insurance Marketplace: Visit www.healthcare.gov for live chat assistance.
Call the Marketplace Call Center: 1-800-318-2596, it is open 24/7. Visit www.covermissouri.org.
Call 211 for local social services assistance to find a federally qualified health center that will provide in-person assistance to fill out forms and find a certified navigator. Download a paper application that can be printed and mailed. (If choosing this option, please utilize the guidance of live chat or phone or local navigator to ensure accuracy.) There are no fees to use the marketplace and no one should solicit health coverage to you. Report fraud to the Missouri Attorney General’s office, by calling 1-800-392-8222.
Here is a checklist of information you will need when you sign up: • Social Security numbers (or document numbers for legal immigrants) • Employer and income information for every member of your household who needs coverage (for example, from pay stubs or W-2 formsóWage and Tax Statements) • Policy numbers for any current health insurance plans covering members of your household • Completed Employer Coverage Tool for every job-based plan you or someone in your household is eligible. (You’ll need to fill out this form even for coverage you’re eligible for but don’t enroll in.) Visit www.healthcare.gov to view this form.
The federal government has already announced that the timelines for enrollment for 2015 coverage will be pushed back one month, to allow consumers more time to compare the plans. Enrollment will continue through Jan. 15, 2015. For information on health care seminars in the St. Louis area go to: http://covermissouri.org/ tools/events/events.php.
To learn more about the ACA or the federal Health Insurance Marketplace, visit www.healthcare.gov or call 1-800- 318-2596. Missouri Should Expand Medicaid The Senate Interim Committee on Medicaid Transformation and Reform voted not to include Medicaid expansion as one of the formal recommendations in its report.
This decision by the majority party serving on the committee was made despite what most witnesses who testified before the committee recommended: Missouri should lower the income eligibility for Medicaid in order to receive matching federal funds and increase health care access to the neediest Missourians. Currently, citizens can only earn up to 18 percent of the federal poverty level to be eligible for Medicaid, or MO HealthNet.
This is far too low of an income threshold in order to have healthy families in Missouri.
The General Assembly should consider waiver options for expansion to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, allowing Missouri to accept the federal money promised with Medicaid expansion.
The Kaiser Commission released a new survey stating states not expanding Medicaid income limits are expecting a larger increase in their state budget portions dedicated to Medicaid.
The commission also indicated that state spending growth will be lower for 25 states that are moving forward with the Medicaid expansion (4.4 percent) compared to the remaining states (6.1 percent).
The committee has until Dec. 15 to issue its final report with its recommendations to the General Assembly for legislative action.
I am disappointed in the committee’s failure to include expert testimony in the recommendations to the Senate and its failure to present a fiscal analysis of the benefits of Medicaid expansion in the report.
The 15 recommendations in the report are insignificant considering the short window of opportunity that states have to receive federal money that Missouri will do without. For more about the committee go to www.senate.mo.gov/ medicaidtransformation.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, February–March 2014.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Source includes December 23 enrollment and December 15 committee deadline already past by issue date; dates retained.
Original source: SD_Times2014_02.pdf, printed page(s) 4; PDF page(s) 4.
