No. Marketplace health plans are not allowed to charge you more based on your health status or pre-existing condition. However, some plans, such as short-term policies, that are sold off the Marketplace might turn you down or charge you more based on your health status or pre-existing condition.
No. You do not need to have pediatric dental coverage to avoid the penalty.
No, the premium tax credit will not be increased to also cover the cost of a stand-alone dental plan.
Each health insurance Marketplace can decide whether to require all insurers to cover pediatric dental benefits or whether to allow the sale of stand-alone dental policies. When stand-alone dental policies are allowed, health insurers in the Marketplace might not be required to cover pediatric dental benefits. If your health plan covers dental benefits, you will pay one premium for everything. If you get dental benefits through a stand-alone plan, you will have to pay a separate premium for the dental benefits.
Under the health care law, dental insurance is treated differently for adults and children 18 and under.
Dental coverage for children is an essential health benefit. This means it must be available to you, either as a covered benefit under your health plan or as a free-standing plan. This is not the case for adults. Insurers don’t have to offer adult dental coverage.
Health plans in the Marketplace must include a link to their prescription drug “formulary” with other on-line information about the plan. The “formulary” is a list of prescription drugs the plan will cover. If you don’t find your drug on the formulary but your doctor says it’s medically necessary for you to take that specific drug, you can appeal for an exception to the plan formulary. If there is a Consumer Assistance Program in your state, staff in this program can help you file your appeal.
Plans are not required to cover any care received from a non-network provider, though many plans today do, at least to some extent. If you do receive care out of network, it could be costly to you. Generally plans that provide an out-of-network option cover such care at a lower rate (e.g., 80% of in-network costs might be reimbursed but only 60% of non-network care.) In addition, when you get care out of network, insurers may apply a separate deductible and are not required to apply your costs to the annual out-of-pocket limit on cost sharing. Non-network providers also are not contracted to limit their charges to an amount the insurer says is reasonable, so you might also owe “balance billing” expenses.
If you went out of network because you felt it was medically necessary to receive care from a specific professional or facility – for example, if you felt your plan’s network didn’t include providers able to provide the care you need – or if you inadvertently got non network care while hospitalized if the anesthesiologist or other physicians working in the hospital don’t participate in your plan network – you can appeal the insurer’s decision. If there is a Consumer Assistance Program in your state, staff in this program can help you file your appeal.
Each plan sold in the Marketplace must provide a link on the Marketplace web site to its health provider directory so consumers can find out if their health providers are included.
The provider network information that insurance companies provide may or may not tell you whether a provider is accepting new patients, or whether a provider speaks your language. It is up to your Marketplace to require insurers to provide you with this information.
Insurers can also offer “Catastrophic” plans. Catastrophic plans have the highest cost sharing. In 2019, Catastrophic plans will have an annual deductible of $7,900 ($15,800 in family plans). You will have to pay the entire cost of covered services (other than preventive care) until you’ve spent $7,900 out of pocket; after that your plan will pay 100 percent of covered in-network services for the rest of the year. Not everybody will be allowed to buy Catastrophic plans. They are only for adults up to age 30, and for older people who can’t find any other Marketplace policy that costs less than 8.3 percent of their income.
Plans in the Marketplace are separated into categories — Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum — based on the amount of cost sharing they require. Cost sharing refers to health plan deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance. For most covered services, you will have to pay (or share) some of the cost, at least until you reach the annual out of pocket limit on cost sharing. The exception is for preventive health services, which health plans must cover entirely.
In the Marketplace, Bronze plans will have the highest deductibles and other cost sharing. Silver plans will require somewhat lower cost sharing. Gold plans will have even lower cost sharing. And Platinum plans will have the lowest deductibles, co-pays and other cost sharing. In general, plans with lower cost sharing will have higher premiums, and vice versa.