pyccku
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,831 
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Post by pyccku on Nov 6, 2014 13:18:32 GMT
I have medical through my school. It's free for me, but pretty pricey for the kids.
I can get a policy - a similar policy as far as deductible, providers, and out of pocket max - through the exchange. It would be about $450 less per month to go that route.
Open enrollment at my school district is in May. Open enrollment for the exchange is coming up in November.
So is the only way to switch to carry both policies from January - May?
I don't have any qualifying events at the moment. Although if DH gets a different job, would that count - even if we don't choose to go through his employer for medical?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:31:52 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2014 13:21:52 GMT
My understanding on open enrollment is it is for **enrollment** So you enroll in the exchange in November. You can drop coverage at any time. You just can't enter coverage at any time. But I could be wrong.
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Post by cade387 on Nov 6, 2014 13:48:20 GMT
at our work you would have to have double coverage for 6 months. That is what I had to do when I switched.
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Post by littlemama on Nov 6, 2014 13:51:25 GMT
Open enrollment means anyone can enroll. Once you have enrolled, your enrollment in the new plan counts as a qualifying event, and once you show proof of the new coverage, you can drop your old coverage, as long as you do it within 30 days.
Cade387, your work needs a new benefits person who understands the rules/laws.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:31:52 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2014 14:52:56 GMT
Just realize that if you go under the exchange, you won't get the subsidies that it might be taking into account if you have employer-sponsored coverage that is credible coverage and not more than x% of your income (I forget the exact % somewhere between 9-10%). And I am not sure whether you can deduct it from your income taxes as a pretax benefit unless your medical bills hit the income tax threshold (around 7% of adjusted gross income). Right now you are not paying any taxes on health coverage from your employer. Just a caution that the exchange may look better, but in the end it may not actually be better. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples.
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pyccku
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,831
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Post by pyccku on Nov 7, 2014 12:08:26 GMT
I know I wouldn't get a subsidy. Currently I am having $459 taken from each paycheck - so $918 per month for medical.
Even if I get a platinum plan, it's still $450 per month through the exchange. Yes, that wouldn't be pre-tax dollars, but I have a hard time believing that my taxes would go up by $450 - I'm not in that high of a tax bracket, lol!
But my benefits handbook says "ith the pre-tax feature, IRS rules require that you cannot change your elections until the next Open Enrollment period unless you have a qualified change in status that affects your benefits, such as a birth, adoption, dependent losing dependent status, marriage, divorce or death. Note: You must notify the Plan in writing within30days of a qualifying change in status." So I don't know that they would count this as a qualifying event, would they?
What really bugs me is that open enrollment for the exchange is in November. For work it's in May. We don't know what the premiums will be for the following year until April or so. They could end up going up even more next year - but then you're pretty much stuck thanks to the misaligned open enrollment periods.
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