In addition, modifications to previous rules now allow short-term plans to compete with ACA-approved coverage.

Personal appointment

Taxpayers are still obligated to purchase health insurance through employers, ACA exchanges, or through independent selection and payment of ACA-compliant programs. But because of the Tax Deduction and Employment Act of 2018 (TCJA), if they do not start in 2019, they will no longer have to pay economic fines. At least some taxpayers are expected to stop paying premiums in 2019 because they only do so to avoid tax penalties. Others may switch to a short-term, limited-term health plan that can now be expanded to compete with aca coverage.

Not only will the federal government lose these fines, but in 2016 alone, about 4 million taxpayers were hit by personally authorized fines, and the aca exchange insurance company also made adjustments to compensate for the expected loss of revenue.

National level violations

At least at the national level, some individuals still need to pay a fine for not carrying insurance. New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Massachusetts impose fines on uninsured people. Due to legislation passed in 2018, Vermont intends to catch up in 2020. The lawmakers of Rhode Island voted in July 2019 to pass a similar clause, which also entered into force on January 1, 2020.

ACA program

The aca exchange still offers a lot of plans for those who want to buy them. The situation in this area remained basically unchanged in 2019. There are still plans for bronze, silver, gold and platinum, and the cost and coverage of these programs are still different. The second-lowest silver plan remains the only plan to offer adjusted premiums to low-income taxpayers. Bronze plans offer the smallest coverage, but they also offer more ways to share the deductibles and co-payments. The Platinum Program offers the most comprehensive coverage.

2019 premium changes

According to the Caesars Family Foundation (KFF), the monthly premium for the second low-cost silver program, considered a “benchmark” program, remained more or less stable in 2019, although some states have soared while others have Some decline. This occurred after a sharp increase in 2018, although the number of subsidized enrollments increased from 8.7 million in 2018 to 9.2 million. However, the number of unfunded enrollments has declined accordingly.

Premium tax credit

The premium tax credit is still a mechanism that ACA is trying to make low- and middle-income Americans affordable. The letter of credit is refundable, which means that it can be paid directly to the taxpayer or the money can be paid to their insurance company, thus reducing the premium for the coming year. Historically, most Americans have chosen to pay their loans to their insurance companies.