Choosing The Right Essential Plan For You And Your Family

Most counties in New York State have more than one Essential Plan health insurance company for you to choose from. Since many insurance companies have contracts with different doctors and hospitals, it may be that your preferred doctor and hospital are not on every plan offered. When you shop for an Essential Plan check to ensure that your doctor and preferred hospital are part of the provider network.

What If I Am On Medicare

Seniors on Medicare will benefit from expanded benefits from the NY Health plan, which will include vision, dental, hearing, and long-term care.

Medicare recipients currently spend an average of $6,100 or 22% of their income on health care. The New York Health Act will eliminate all out-of-pocket costs, ending financial worries when seeking health care. New Yorkers will pay less in New York Health taxes than they are paying now to insurance companies and in out-of-pocket expenses, and they will get the health care they need when they need it.

Learn more about Medicare and the NY Health Act here.

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Cheapest Health Insurance By Metal Tier

To help you to compare prices and choose the best policy, we identified the most affordable health insurance plans available in the state of New York.

Independent Health is the cheapest provider of Bronze, Silver and Platinum policies. Fidelis Care offers the cheapest Gold plan.

Health insurance is offered at five different tier levels in New York: Catastrophic, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. However, our analysis excludes Catastrophic plans because of their limited availability.

Find Cheap Health Insurance Quotes in New York

As you can see above, when the tier level increases, the monthly premium becomes more expensive. A Silver plan in New York will cost $188 more per month than a Bronze plan, and a Gold plan will cost $148 more than a Silver plan.

Similarly, as the monthly cost per tier increases, the benefits also improve. On average, a Silver plan will have a $2,760 lower deductible than a Bronze plan, but the two tiers have nearly the same average out-of-pocket maximum. When comparing Silver and Gold tiers, benefits continue to improve. A Gold plan has, on average, a $1,305 lower deductible than a Silver plan and a $2,093 lower out-of-pocket maximum, providing a much better cap on health care costs.

Monthly cost for an adult.

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Are You Eligible For The Essential Plan

There are three qualifying elements for you to be eligible for the NY Essential Plan. They are:

Income limits are related to your family size. The following chart explains how your income and family size is structured.

Individual Health Insurance Ny

Individual Health Insurance NY Family Health Plans

If youre looking for an Individual Health Insurance NY plan for you and your family, we offer private health plans from Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, Emblem Health, Empire, MVP and Oscar.

These health plans are perfect for sole proprietors, small business owners, and 1099 contractors who do not want Obama Care.

Scroll down to view and downloadthe rates and program features.

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Health Plans By State

Cigna offers Individual and Family Health Insurance Plans in AZ, CO, FL, IL, KS, MO, NC, TN, UT, and VA.

Select your state to see the plans we offer.

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1 Cigna provides access to virtual care through a national telehealth provider, MDLive located on myCigna, as part of your health plan. Providers are solely responsible for any treatment provided to their patients. Video chat may not be available in all areas or with all providers. This service is separate from your health plans network and may not be available in all areas or under all plan types. $0 virtual care benefit not available for all plans in AZ and CO. Some plans may apply a copay, coinsurance or deductible. Virtual care does not guarantee that a prescription will be written. Refer to plan documents for complete description of virtual care services and costs, including other telehealth/telemedicine benefits. A primary care provider referral is not required for this service.

2 Plans may vary. Includes eligible in-network preventive care services. Some preventive care services may not be covered, including most immunizations for travel. Reference plan documents for a list of covered and non-covered preventive care service.

3 Referrals are required for residents of Illinois.

5 Discounts available with the Cigna Patient Assurance Program. $25 is the maximum out-of-pocket cost for a 30-day supply of covered, eligible insulin.

• I want to

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Unitedhealthcare Dual Complete Plans

Plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliated companies, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract and a contract with the State Medicaid Program. Enrollment in the plan depends on the plans contract renewal with Medicare. This plan is available to anyone who has both Medical Assistance from the State and Medicare. This information is not a complete description of benefits. Call TTY 711 for more information. Limitations, co-payments, and restrictions may apply. Benefits, premiums and/or co-payments/co-insurance may change on January 1 of each year.

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Carrier Summary Of Benefits And Formulary Listing

While the Essential plan only has four options that are based on income. Each carrier often includes additional benefits such as telehealth, teledoc, gym reimbursement programs, and wellness programs to create brand awareness and to attract clientele. Below is a listing of carriers that have made their plan summaries and pharmacy formulary listings available.

• Inpatient and outpatient care at a hospital

When is enrollment? Open enrollment is year-round.

Would I still qualify if I’m self-employed? – Yes, the program is open to Freelancers, independent contractors, the self-employed, and all persons who don’t have an affordable health insurance option available to them at their place of employment. Additionally, for persons out of work, you still may qualify.

What happens if I miss a premium payment? Since premiums are paid in advance, if you miss a premium payment you will lose your coverage for the next month. But, you can re-enroll at any time without penalty.

I have a copay, are any services free? Yes! Preventative care like a routine physical and some screening tests are not subject to the copay.

Im pregnant, can I be covered by the NYS Essential Plan? No, but that is because you are eligible for coverage under the New York State Medicaid Program.

Does my immigration status matter? It does. However, most immigrants can qualify if they meet other eligibility requirements. These requirements include:

What Does The Essential Plan Cost

Starting in 2021 all Essential plans have removed their monthly premium requirements and are now free! There are a total of 4 Essential plan options, each based on your current income. There are no family plans with the essential plan, only individual coverage. Children are not eligible for the Essential Plan, however, if the parent qualify for the Essential then the children are most likely eligible for Child Health Plus

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How To Enroll In The Essential Plan

Before Enrolling in an Essential plan, you may want to review the eligibility requirements, however your options to enroll include the following:

• Contact us at our toll-free number 215-4045 and we will first help you determine if you are eligible. Once we determine your eligibility, we then compare all of the available Health insurance companies offering the essential plan in your region. Our comparison will ensure that your current doctor is part of the network as well as compare network size to determine if the hospitals and labs of your choice are included in the network
• You have the option to visit each carrier to review their plans however you won’t be able to compare plans side by side
• The New York State of Health is another enrollment option. You can go direct or we can enroll you in the plan of your choice

Whats The Cheapest Health Insurance

The cheapest premiums in the individual market are Bronze plans. Bronze and Silver typically have similar premiums.

Its a good idea to get health insurance quotes for both Bronze and Silver plans to see the difference. Silver level plans are also eligible for cost-saving subsidies that reduce health insurance costs, which can make a Silver plan even cheaper than a Bronze plan, depending on your income.

If you want the most affordable health insurance premiums, make sure to get quotes for both types of plans.

That said, individual health insurance is often more expensive than employer-sponsored health insurance. Employers usually pay more than half of job-based plan costs, so those plans are often more affordable than an individual health insurance plan.

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What Is Covered And How Much Will It Cost

• Emergency services and hospitalization
• Pregnancy, maternity and newborn care
• Mental health services
• Chronic disease management and pediatric care
• Prescription drugs

Insurance companies cannot deny coverage because of preexisting conditions. When you apply, you can identify your medical needs and choose a plan that makes financial sense for you and your family. All New York State of Health plans cover basic dental services for children, including cleanings and exams. But adults who want dental coverage must add it to their policy. Deductibles and out-of-pocket costs vary between plans enrolling in a family plan can cut costs.

I Need Insurance And I Am Collecting Unemployment Insurance Benefits

The stimulus bill provides substantial, short-term subsidies to buy coverage on the Obamacare marketplaces. Regardless of your income, if you collect unemployment insurance at any time this year, you will qualify for a free silver plan with special bonus coverage that will lower your deductible and co-payments.

It may take a few months for Healthcare.gov or your state exchange website to update. Healthcare.gov will be set up to administer these benefits on July 1. But if you sign up for a silver plan now, you will be able to get these benefits for the rest of the year. You may need to pay a higher premium at first while the system is adjusting, but you will eventually be eligible for a refund.

If you used to get insurance at work, you may also qualify for up to six months of free COBRA coverage, meaning you have a choice about which kind of free insurance you want.

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Can I Choose Different Coverage

If your spouses employer offers the company health plan to you and your children, you don’t have to accept it.

If you can find a better deal on health insurance coverage for you and the kids, you can let your spouses employer cover your spouse only. You and the kids can opt for other coverage.

However, before you make this move, you should know about something called the “family glitch.”

If your spouse’s employer offers family coverage, they will consider that coverage is affordable for the employee without taking into consideration how much gets taken out of their paycheck for the rest of the family’s coverage.

That means that if your spouse’s plan is considered affordable for them, then no one in the family is eligible for premium subsidies in the exchange.

What Is Private Health Insurance

Private health insurance is managed by private insurance companies, rather than New York State. You can buy private insurance, called a Qualified Health Plan, on the NY State of Health Marketplace. You can get help to apply from someone in your community. Financial help is available on the NY State of Health. You can also buy insurance directly from an insurance company, but you wont be eligible for financial help if you do.

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What Does Health Insurance Cover

The Affordable Care Act instituted a number of controls on health insurance plans and providers. One of the biggest changes is that every health insurance plan, regardless of tier or provider, must offer at least some coverage for 10 essential benefits. Those benefits are:

These are the bare minimum services that every type of ACA-compliant plan must cover. Keep in mind that if you purchase a short term health insurance plan, these requirements dont apply.

Allowing Dependent Coverage Through Age 29

Under the Affordable Care Act, young adults can be covered under their parents’ health insurance plans up to the age of 27. Because of the way insurance is priced in New York, it is preferable for young adults to stay on their parents’ plans until the legal age limit since the additional cost for a dependent is cheaper.

New York also allows health insurance companies to offer an age 29 coverage option. Parents pay a little more for their health insurance in exchange for having their children stay on the family plan until the age of 29.

For example, say your young adult child has passed the age of 27 but does not have a job or sustainable income to pay for their own insurance. In this case, you could pay a small extra premium along with your normal health insurance rate that would allow your coverage to support your son or daughter. To qualify, the young adult must:

• Be unmarried
• Not be insured or eligible for insurance through their employer
• Live, work or reside in New York state or the insurance carrier’s coverage area

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Counselor Locations By Borough

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person health insurance enrollment services will be suspended until further notice.

During this period, you can call for information or to schedule a telephone enrollment appointment. Our enrollment staff will continue to help New Yorkers sign up for low- and no-cost health insurance by phone. Help is available regardless of immigration status, in many languages, and your information will be kept private.

• 1309 Fulton Avenue, Third Floor646-483-1279, 646-983-1712

• 335 Central Avenue, First Floor
• 347-236-7029, 646-799-1346, 347-236-9934

Manhattan

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The Four Levels Of Insurance Plans To Choose From At The Ny State Of Health Marketplace

At the NY health marketplace, you have the option to choose from four tiers of health insurance plans:

• Bronze level 60 percent coverage
• Silver level 70 percent coverage
• Gold level 80 percent coverage
• Platinum level 90 percent coverage

Each level offers different premiums covering different levels of medical expenses. For example, the Bronze level plans have a lower premium than the Silver level plans, but the Bronze plans have higher out-of-pocket costs. The consumer makes up for those other costs through deductibles, co-pays, and/or coinsurance.

For each tier, there is a limit on out-of-pocket spending thats equal to the Health Savings Account current law limit. In 2021 that limit is $3,250 for an individual and$6,450 for a family.

If your annual income falls somewhere between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty line, then there will be an even lower cap on out-of-pocket expenses.

For example, if your income is:

• 100-200% FPL: one-third of the HSA limits
• 200-300% FPL: one-half of the HSA limits
• 300-400% FPL: two-thirds of the HSA limits .

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What If You Collected Unemployment This Year

If you received at least one week of unemployment benefits this year, you could apply for health insurance breaks through the exchange. And if you’re married filing jointly and your spouse collected unemployment, you’d also be eligible.

If you are eligible, the Silver level plan through the exchange would have the lowest costs, the state said.

The extra savings runs through the end of the year.

Child Health Plus In New York

All children under age 19 who dont qualify for Medicaid and dont have other health insurance coverage may qualify for Child Health Plus in New York regardless of immigration status. This free or low-cost health insurance is available to New York residents who meet income eligibility requirements based on household size. Parents or caretaker relatives must apply for Child Health Plus for their children on the New York Health Insurance Marketplace. Required documents for application include proof of identity, citizenship, residency, age, and household income, and, in some cases, immigration status.

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Unitedhealthcare Connected For Mycare Ohio

UnitedHealthcare Connected® for MyCare Ohio is a health plan that contracts with both Medicare and Ohio Medicaid to provide benefits of both programs to enrollees. If you have any problem reading or understanding this or any other UnitedHealthcare Connected® for MyCare Ohio information, please contact our Member Services at from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday for help at no cost to you.

Si tiene problemas para leer o comprender esta o cualquier otra documentación de UnitedHealthcare Connected® de MyCare Ohio , comuníquese con nuestro Departamento de Servicio al Cliente para obtener información adicional sin costo para usted al de lunes a viernes de 7 a.m. a 8 p.m. .

This is not a complete list. The benefit information is a brief summary, not a complete description of benefits. For more information contact the plan or read the Member Handbook. Limitations, copays, and restrictions may apply. For more information, call UnitedHealthcare Connected Member Services or read the UnitedHealthcare Connected Member Handbook. Benefits, List of Covered Drugs, pharmacy and provider networks and/or copayments may change from time to time throughout the year and on January 1 of each year.