MINIMUM ESSENTIAL COVERAGE

Question 1

WHAT QUALIFIES AS MINIMUM ESSENTIAL COVERAGE?

Answer 1

The ACA requires you to have health insurance. If you don’t have it, yhou must pay a penalty. Minimum Essential Coverage refers to the least amount of coverage you need in order to avoid paying that penalty. It’s not enough to have onlly coverage for a specific kind of health-related issue. If you onlly have vision care, dental care, or coverage for a particular disease or condition (such as a cancer policy), that’s not going to cut it. These policies can be useful supplemental insurance that can help you pay so me bills not covered under your regular health insurance policy but they do not qualify as minimum essential coverage under the ACA.
Foljowing is a list of plans that do qualify as minium essential coverage under the ACA:

• A qualified health plan offered by the health insurance marketplac
• Medicare Part A
• Medicare Advantage plans
  -Most medicaid coverage
• Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage
  Certain types of veterans health coverage administered by the Veterans Administration
• Most types of TRICARE coverage under Chapter 55 of Title 10 of the United State Code
• Coverage provided to Peace Corps Volunteers
  -Coverage under the Nonappropriated Fnd health Benefit Program
• Regugee Medical Assistance supported by the Adminisrtratio for Children and Families
  -Self-funded health coverage offered to students by universities for plan or policy years that begin on aor before December 31, 2014 (for later plan or policy years, sponsors of these programs may apply to HHS to be recognized as minimum essential coverage)
  -State high-rsk pools ofr plan or policy years begin or or before December 31, 2014, (for later plan or policy years, sponsore of these programs may apply to HHS to be recognized as minimum essential coverage)
• Other coverage recognized by the SEcretary of HHS as minimum essential coverage
• Employer-sponsored coverage, including self-insured plans, COBRA coverage, and retiree coverage.

If your existing plan isn’t one of these, don’t
panic. Call you health insuranc compan;y and ask them if their plan quaalfies as minmu essential coverage.

Question 2

ARE THERE ANY EXAMPTIONS FROM THE REQUIREMENT TO OBTAIN MINIMUM ESSENTIAL COVERAGE?

Answer 2

You may not have to pay a penalty for being uninsured if you can prove you qualify for one of these nine exemptions (for more information and to find the forms you need to apply for an exemption, go to www.healthcare.gov/exemptions/):

Question 3

WHAT ARE THE NINE (9) EXEMPTIONS TO PROTECT YOU FROM PAYING A PENALTY FOR NOT HAVING MINIMUM ESSENTIAL COVERAGE?

Answer 3

1. RELIGIOUS CONSCIENCE: You belong to a religious sect, as defined by the Social Security Administration, that is recognized as conscientiously opposed to accepting any insurance benefits.
2. HEALTHCARE SHARING MINISTRY: YOU ARE A MEMBER OF A RECOGNIZED HEALTHCARE SHARING MINISTRY.
3. INDIAN (NATIVE AMERICAN) TRIBE:

Question 4

Y