Ron Bliss: Short-term plans are alternative to pricey Affordable Care Act plans

As some consumers struggle to make payments for expensive Affordable Care Act plans, be aware that short-term health plans are available locally.

Affordable Healthcare Pros offers plans from both United Healthcare and HCC that will give you needed coverage for much less than you would pay for an ACA plan. Be aware, however, that you have to pass underwriting to get a short-term plan and that by having a short-term plan you will not satisfy the requirement for an approved ACA plan and will have to pay a penalty.

When you consider the monthly savings, however, you can have a short-term plan and still pay the penalty and come out hundreds and even thousands of dollars head.

It is estimated that a family of three can get the same coverage on a short-term plan as it would on an ACA plan for as much as $500 a month less. When you consider the penalty this year for not having an approved ACA plan is $695 for each adult and $347.50 for a child, the penalty for a family of three would be $1737.50 and weigh that against a potential $6000 in savings over the year, it is a no-brainer.

The draw for most buying an ACA plan is the subsidy the family of three would get to reduce the cost of insurance. If you are receiving a sizable subsidy, it would not be such a good idea to switch. But if you get little or no subsidy, it might be something to consider.

If you are interested in assessing the cost of switching, come see us at Affordable Healthcare Pros, as 2307 N. Carson St. in Carson City and we will give you a free estimate.

You can call our office at 775-883-3414 to set up an appointment with an agent or call me personally at 775-224-7169 or 775-450-6769.

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, disability, plans to cover in-home or nursing home costs, accidents and hospital indemnity policies.