New legislation helps Californians afford health insurance

Millions of Americans are benefitting from the Inflation Reduction Act, which extends financial help from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 through the end of 2025.

“The American Rescue Plan lowered costs and boosted enrollment — particularly among communities of color, lower-income families and many in the middle-income bracket who, for the first time, received federal financial assistance to help pay for their coverage,” says Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California™. “Cementing these benefits for an additional three years means that Californians and people across the country will continue to have the access to health coverage they need and deserve.”

Don Truong, director of sales at Sharp Health Plan agrees. If you’re eligible and sign up for health care coverage, you’ll continue to see significant savings next year on your health insurance costs. “For example, Sharp Health Plan is offering plans as low as $0 a month for those who qualify,” he says.

Qualifying for financial assistance
There are three important ways the Inflation Reduction Act is helping individuals and families that qualify to save money on health insurance:

1. Eligible individuals won’t pay more than 8.5% of their income on their health care premiums, also called their monthly cost.
    

2. Free Silver Plans are available for those who earned less than 150% of the federal poverty level, which is $19,320 for an individual and $39,750 for a family of four.
    

3. Financial help is available to those who earned more than $51,520 as an individual or $106,000 for a family of four.

“Those who qualify will be eligible for assistance through federal tax credits and a California state subsidy,” explains Truong.

Checking your eligibility
“The best way to check your eligibility is to visit Covered California’s website to see what kind of financial assistance you may qualify for,” Truong says. “Even if you haven’t qualified for financial assistance in the past, it’s a good idea to check again this year.”

If you’re already enrolled in health insurance through Covered California, you don’t need to do anything. Covered California will automatically update your premium assistance if you qualify.

Shopping for a health plan
"Consider the quality of a health plan before purchasing insurance,” Truong recommends. “It’s also important to check on the quality of a health plan’s network — the health care facilities and doctors that you’ll have access to through your health plan.”

The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) program conducts annual surveys on patient experience and reports on their experiences with health plans, providers and facilities. Since its launch in 1997, the CAHPS Health Plan Survey has become the national standard for measuring and reporting on the experiences of consumers with their health plans.

“Sharp Health Plan is the highest member-rated health plan in California for the eighth year in a row,” says Truong. “We also hold the highest member ratings for health care and specialists among reporting California health plans, according to CAHPS results.”

To start your health insurance coverage on Jan. 1, 2023, your enrollment application must be received by Dec. 31, 2022.

Learn more about health insurance options from Sharp Health Plan's certified enrollment specialists, available Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm, sign up for an enrollment workshop online or call 1-800-82-SHARP (1-800-827-4277) to register.