When you purchase Obamacare health insurance there is a promise of a taxpayer subsidy to make the health insurance affordable. The folks at Kaiser Family Foundation have provided this handy dandy calculator to help in estimating your net cost, after subsidy, for health insurance.
By the time 2014 rolls around, everything will be different. Health insurance companies will be prohibited from using gender to set rates. Males will be billed the same rate as females. All pre-existing medical conditions must be covered, regardless of the condition or how expensive it is to treat.
We were curious how much the subsidy would be for a 35 year old single earning $40,000 in 2014. The unsubsidized premium is projected by KFF to be $3,962 per year ($330 per month). We believe the premium will be much higher but KFF didn't ask us.
Using the calculator the taxpayer subsidy would be $162 per year leaving the insured to pay $3,800 per year or 96% of the premium.
A family of 4, also age 35 but earning $60,000 per year might expect an annual premium of $11,104 ($925 per month) that would be offset by $6,167 in tax credits leaving a net due of $4,937.
Keep in mind that tax credits come as an offset against taxes paid when you file your 1040 return. In order to get the credit you must purchase the insurance, pay the premiums, then wait until the following year to get your credit.
This should be interesting.
