Time running out to get insurance

The clock is ticking. Thousands of New Mexicans will lose their ability to buy health insurance under the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange (NMHIX) if they fail to enroll by March 31.

If they miss this deadline, unless they become covered by an employer or have a life-changing event such as marriage or birth of a child, they will be unable to get health insurance coverage until January 2015.

Much has been said and written about the affordability of the insurance plans provided by NMHIX. If an individual is making less than $45,000 a year and a family of four has a household income of less than $96,000 a year, they may be able to afford health care insurance for the first time and pay no premium or a low monthly premium. Why? Because they may qualify for federal subsidies to help pay premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.

NMHIX has been working to make it easy as possible for individuals to calculate what their premium subsidies would be and to shop available plans through the “NM Care Compare” tool:

BeWellNm.com

We at the Exchange are committed to give simple-to-use resources to find out the best option for individuals and families.

There are a couple of other points people should keep in mind when deciding whether to enroll in health care insurance this year.

The first is that no one with a pre-existing condition can be denied coverage or charged more because of it.

The second point to remember is there are penalties for not having insurance. This year, the penalty is $95 or 1 percent of your adjusted gross income, whichever is higher.

For help, call 1-855-996-6449 or go to BeWellNM.com, click on “I Need Help” and type in your ZIP code.

Mike Nuñez

Interim CEO

New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange