A subsidized health plan is a policy provided by the Marketplace with a discounted premium, since a portion of it is covered by the government. Eligibility is based on whether or not the insured’s household income qualifies. There is certain criteria for those that are single and those with other dependent family members in their household. It is extremely important that the applicant provides true and accurate information regarding their income, as that is what determines how much help they receive.
It’s also imperative that the insured then updates any changes to their income throughout the year of the policy’s coverage. In situations where their income increases, their subsidy may decrease and vice versa. The penalty for not keeping this information up to date is that a portion of the subsidy could be owed back at tax time if they failed to provide the right information earlier in the year.
The only instance in our current situation that does NOT need to be reported as an income change is the œeconomic impact stimulus check that some recently received from the government. That is not required to be considered as true income.
With the current pandemic of Covid-19, there are unfortunately many people that have either had their income decreased, hours cut, or even lost their job altogether. If this happened or happens to you, contact the Marketplace or your agent immediately to update all income information and keep it as accurate as possible, no matter how many times it may change.
