The ACA deadline is March 31, 2014!
If you want to make a decision on your health insurance for 2014 and avoid paying an ACA tax penalty, line up your medical coverage now through the U-Haul Dealer Benefits Program. Starting April 1, 2014 you will be required under Obamacare rules to wait until the next annual open enrollment period, unless you have a ‘qualifying life event’ or a ‘hardship exemption.’
If you want to easily compare health insurance plans without the risk and inconvenience of the government exchanges, you are eligible to use your U-Haul private health insurance exchange. Our plans are ACA compliant and cover the “10 essential health benefits.”
Many people have gotten caught up in the uncertainty and hype surrounding the new public health exchanges and feel pressured to immediately logon and make a purchase. Dealers and employees should know that you are absolutely allowed to get your health insurance OFF the public exchanges, using the U-Haul national private health exchange.
Over a decade of operation, your U-Haul health exchange has proven to be safe and secure and Dealers tell us it is easy to use. Many Dealers have told us they much prefer using our private exchange over the public exchanges. You will find ACA qualified health plans there and the cost will be the same or may even be lower when you rely on our preselected plans and experiences staff for guidance.
The federal health reform law mandates that all health insurance plans sold in the U.S. as of January 1, 2014 must include the following package of “10 essential benefits” over and above meeting the existing mandatory benefit requirements of each state. Health insurers were busy throughout 2013 revising their health plans and refiling them with the state insurance authorities to meet these new federal plan design requirements:
10 ESSENTIAL BENEFITS
- Ambulatory patient services – Care you receive without being admitted to a hospital, such as at a clinic, physicians office or day surgery center.
- Emergency services – Care for conditions which, if not treated immediately, could lead to serious disability or death.
- Hospitalization – Care you receive as an inpatient, including room & board, doctor and nurse care, administered tests and drugs.
- Maternity and newborn – Care for women during pregnancy and labor and for newborn children. Bachelors get this coverage too.
- Mental health, substance abuse and behavioral health treatment – Care to evaluate, diagnose and treat.
- Prescription drugs – Drugs prescribed by a doctor to treat acute illnesses and ongoing conditions.
- Rehabilitative services – Services and devices to help with injuries, disabilities, chronic conditions, recover mental and physical skills.
- Laboratory services – Testing of blood and tissues ordered by a doctor to diagnose and monitor medical conditions.
- Preventive and wellness – Routine physicals, screening, immunizations, disease management.
- Pediatric services – All the above essential benefits as provided to children, including oral and vision care. Single people and childless families get this coverage too.
You’re eligible for the U-Haul Dealer Benefits Program, so now is a good time to review your existing health insurance or to remove yourself from the rolls of the uninsured and avoid the Obamacare health tax when you file your 1040 this year.
The employees of all your businesses are eligible too, so you can also give them access to this same great program and let them choose the coverage they want. The Health Insurance program is voluntary and portable. Employees of all your businesses and their families are immediately eligible at no cost to the dealership.
Keep in mind, as a small employer (under 50 employees), you are not required under the ACA to pay for health insurance for your employees, but you still may want to offer your employees the benefit of easy access to health insurance through the U-Haul private exchange. Each person picks and pays for their own plan.
Some low income households may qualify for subsidies under ACA. You and your employees can use the comparison shopping tool on the U-Haul private exchange to see the amount of tax penalty you must pay if you do not buy health insurance. You can also get an estimate of the amount, if any, of the sliding scale tax subsidy based on household income. Currently, the only way to obtain ACA subsidies is through the public exchanges. We do not provide tax or accounting advice, so we urge you to discuss the tax implications of ACA with your accountant and tax advisor.