ACA signups for 2016 double in final week for Jan. 1 starts

Amazingly, in the final week before the end of enrollment for a Jan. 1 start date, enrollments in Affordable Care Act health plans nearly doubled.

There were 4.2 million Americans signed up for plans from Nov. 1 through Dec. 12. Another 4 million signed up from Dec. 13 through Dec. 19. The total of 8.2 million compares to the 6.4 million who signed up through the same date in 2014.

Because of congestion at the Marketplace call center, the deadline for Jan. 1 was extended two days to Dec. 17.

Of this year’s total, 72,627 have been enrolled on the federal exchange in Nevada.

Helping spur the increase was the signups of about 2.1 million people under the age of 35. That was nearly double of the number of individuals in that age group that had signed up through the same period last year.

Increased fines are likely a big incentive for younger individuals to enroll. Many were hit with tax penalties last year which increase again for 2016.

The individual fine will be a minimum of $695 this year, compared to $395 last year. That is the lowest of two potential penalties. The individual percent goes up this year from two percent of adjusted gross income to 2 1-2 percent of adjusted gross income. If a family of four fails to have ACA-approved coverage, the fine would be a minimum of $695 for each adult and $347.50 for each child or another $695 for a total of $2085. If the family has a household income of $90,000, the fine would be $2250, or 2 1-2 percent of the AGI.

Signups continue until Jan. 31, 2016. Those who sign up by Jan. 15 will have a Feb. 1, 2016, start date and those who sign up between Jan. 16 and Jan. 31 will have a March 1, 2016 start date. Anyone who has creditable coverage for at least nine months of the year will not be fined.

If you need help enrolling, contact us at Affordable Healthcare Pros. You can come by our office at 2307 N. Carson Street in Carson City or call us at one of the following numbers:

Office Number: 775-883-3414.

Carson City Numbers: 775-450-6769; 775-450-6867, 775-450-7754 or 775-224-716

Or Las Vegas lines -- 702- 721-3657 or 702-721-3810.

There is no charge for our services. We offer a wide variety of health insurance coverage and can take care of your healthcare needs – both on and off exchanges in both Nevada and California.

Ron Bliss is a former long-time sports writer who has been doing health insurance since 2009. He is certified on both Covered California and the Nevada Health Link and can sell products on and off both exchanges. Affordable Healthcare Pros also offers a variety of dental plans to include dental-vision-hearing plans in both states, as well as a wide variety of Medicare supplements and other health supplemental products to include critical illness, short-term care, disability, plans to cover in-home or nursing home costs, accidents and hospital indemnity policies.