Health Insurance In California: Is It Still Required In 2019?
A handful of states, including California, have health insurance laws and each individual has to be compulsorily insured. The new health insurance mandate demands the state residents to maintain the lowest essential coverage for individuals and families. An Individual without health insurance will have to pay a tax penalty of $695 ($347.50 per child) or 2.5% of their total income, whichever is higher.
California will be first to issue state subsidies to middle-income consumers who were not qualified for financial aid as they did not comply with federal income requirements. On top of federal assistance for the middle-income consumers, state subsidy will reverse the undercutting of the affordable care act and will also restore the law which requires mandatory health insurance.
Use the state marketplace to compare plans and choose one that meets your requirement. Remember that if you are already insured, your selected plan will be automatically renewed.
If your health insurance plan has been deactivated, you will be re-insured with similar policies.
The state offers subsidies to help middle-income people pay less on insurance coverage.
Families whose income fall between 100-400% of the federal poverty level are assisted by the federal government for premium subsidies. For example, an individual earning $49,960 and a family of four earning $103,000 can qualify for federal subsidies.
Obamacare health insurance California has not been revoked. It will open enrolment for 2020 health insurance from October 15, 2020.
New subsidies in California will benefit these three groups of people-
- Individuals earning between 400-600% of the federal poverty level will be eligible to save up to 23% on their monthly premiums. 600% of the federal poverty level amounts to $74,940 for an individual and $154,500 for a family of four.
- Individuals earning between 100-400% of the federal poverty level will be assisted with 5% state subsidy, excluding the federal assistance on monthly premiums.
- Citizens with a yearly income of less than 138% of the federal poverty level will enjoy certain plans at just $1 per person per month. The earnings cutoff on this level is $17,327 for an individual and $35,535 for a family of four
People with very low income will get continued low-cost and free insurance coverage through Medicaid California. The Trump administration has made the purchase of short-term insurance plans easier, but under California law, short term insurance plans remain for only 12 months. You could opt for a short term insurance plan to get you through the next open enrolment period if you are caught without health insurance, be wary of the plans which do not meet the requirements of Obamacare.
As the Trump administration cut funding for health insurance enrolment, it also terminated the budget for federal health insurance exchange California. The bright side is that California does not count on federal funding for its awareness and enrolment assistance programs.