Clark County Certified Application Counselors Explain the Affordable Care Act, Part 2
Thursday, December 19th, 2013 -- 9:41 AM
-The Affordable Care Act is highly controversial item, as is health care in general, and it can be very confusing at times.I spoke with Shauna O?Keefe and Amber McNeely, Certified Application Counselors for Clark County, about the ACA. Shauna said that applying for coverage on Healthcare.gov is become a quick and smooth process.
Shauna said, "I find it very quick and efficient. When the website first went up and we were processing applications, it could take upwards of two hours to get an application completed. And now, as long as that information is readily available from the client, we're seeing anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour tops."
Shauna then explained the penalties that people will face if they are not covered under the new law.
Shauna said, "What they're going to see is when they file their tax returns for 2014 and 2015 that they would receive a penalty of $95 or 1% of their income, which ever is higher, per individual, adult individual, who did not have coverage for nine of the twelve months. Those are the figures for 2014, but they will increase every year. So, by 2016, you will be seeing a 2.5% penalty that creates a 'use it or lose it mentality' where people are starting to see a $700 to $1,000 penalty; you might as well be paying for insurance at that point."
If you have any questions on the ACA or would like to enroll through the federal website, Shauna and Amber would be happy to answer your questions. You can call them at 715-743-5264 and 715-743-5261. There are also two enrollment sessions scheduled on January 14th at the Abbotsford High School and another on February 4th at the Greenwood High School.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.