On March 11, Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARP), designed to reduce health care costs and increase health insurance accessibility.
"Joe Biden" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
For those of you who purchase Marketplace health insurance through HealthCare.gov and get subsidies, you are likely eligible for increased tax credits that will reduce yours premium costs. The average monthly premium will be lowered by $50 per person or $85 per policy. Assuming you are eligible for subsidy, you will be offered at least a couple of plans that won’t cost more than 8.5% of your household income.
How do I take advantage of the increased health insurance subsidies in ARP?
Beginning on 4/1/2021, Marketplace consumers can take advantage of this and lower health related expenses by logging onto the healthcare.gov portal and updating their plan. Below I have provided a list of steps describing how to do this:
After logging in, click on your existing application and take note of your current plan if you wish the re-enroll in the same one.
You will then be redirected to a new page, where you’ll select ‘Report a life change’ and scroll down to select the corresponding green button.
Choose “Report a change in my household’s income, size, address, or other information.”
You will be taken to your existing application, where you should check that all information is up-to-date and correct any false information. Most information should not have to be changed.
After re-submitting your application, browse the recommended plans and find the right one for you (I would be more than happy to help you decide- contact me if you would like to schedule an appointment!)
Congratulations! You made it! Once you pay your next premium the change will be official.