Bronze Plan – Affordable Care Act What Is the Bronze Plan? The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, requires insurance companies in 2014 to offer new categories of health insurance plans to consumers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. These plans will all offer a minimum standard of benefits determined by the government. This minimum standard is known as the plan’s essential health benefits. Generally speaking, the Bronze Plan is intended to have the lowest premium of the 4 new categories of plans but charge the highest out-of-pocket costs for healthcare services. For people without group insurance from an employer or other group, the Bronze plan is the minimum health insurance plan in which they can enroll that will satisfy the Affordable Care Act’s mandate for people to purchase health insurance. What Are The Bronze Plan’s Out-of-Pocket Costs? Bronze Plans are designed so that insurance companies will pay 60% of covered healthcare expenses with the remaining 40% to be paid by consumers. The consumer’s expenses will be in the form of out-of-pocket fees over and above the cost of the plan’s monthly premium. Out-of-pocket expenses for individuals is expected to be capped at $6,350 annually starting in 2014. The 40/60 percentages are based on projected use of healthcare services by plan members. The actual out-of-pocket expenses of any single beneficiary may work out to be more or less than this ratio but should remain within the range. Those people whose out-of-pocket limits reach the annual maximum could see their share of healthcare costs fall until a new calendar year begins and the annual limit reset.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 08:10:20 +0000
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