Health Insurance Blog

State officials looking at the state’’s new mandatory health insurance program said that they are not expecting hundreds of thousands of uninsured residents to come up for new health insurance plans. According to the Health Insurance Connector Authority Chairwoman Leslie A. Kirwan, July 1 start for the insurance mandate “is really a call to action” for the uninsured to begin taking steps to get coverage.

Initial tax penalties, in the form of a loss of a personal deduction on state taxes, will only be applied to those without coverage starting in January, and will be assessed only on those unable to verify insurance coverage for the year when they file their 2008 state tax forms in early 2009. “Starting July 1 the individual mandate takes effect in which all adults are required to have health insurance, if affordable,” Ms. Kirwan said. “It marks the start of a five-month grace period before any penalties apply.” “We are looking to insure people, not penalize them,” she said.

Those without insurance can buy it directly from private insurers, but the state has also set up a variety of plans, including low-premium, high-deductible plans available through the Connector, and arrangements for payments through pre-tax payroll deductions. Subsidized plans are also available for those with income below 300 percent of the poverty level.

Officials acknowledged the criteria, which weigh the cost of available health plans for an individual, income levels, family structure, employer offered insurance options, county residence and other factors, make a complex formula. To help people test their eligibility for an exemption, officials said, they intend to have an interactive calculator on the agency Web site (MAhealthconnector.org) by Sunday. People can also make inquiries about insurance options and exemption eligibility by calling the Connector at 877-MA-ENROLL.

Setting the affordability standards, Ms. Kirwan said, was one more step toward implementing health care reforms.Since January, 130,000 people eligible for MassHealth and the Commonwealth Care subsidized insurance plans have signed up for coverage, according to Jonathan Kingsdale, executive director of the authority.

“We are receiving close to 50,000 inquiries a week through the Web site and the call center. We had 8,800 yesterday,” Ms. Kirwan said. “People are obviously educating themselves about the requirement and are shopping.