Even working families can pay less for health coverage. You may be eligible for a free or low-cost plan or a tax credit that can be used to lower your monthly premiums right away. See below for more information on these types of help. You’ll answer questions to see if you qualify for a break on costs.
Free or low-cost plans
You and/or your family may qualify for free or low-cost coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), even if you’ve been turned down before. We’ll let you know what each person qualifies for after you submit your application.
Lower out-of-pocket costs
If you enroll in a Marketplace plan, you may be able to save money on out-of-pocket costs — the payments you have to make for doctor’s visits, lab tests, drugs, and other covered services. Whether you save on out-of-pocket costs will depend on your household size and income.
If you qualify for savings on out-of-pocket costs, you’ll pay lower deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments. These are costs you have to pay when you get care.
When you apply for coverage in the Marketplace, you'll learn if you’re eligible for savings, which are sometimes called “cost-sharing reductions.”
Tax credits
With most tax credits, you have to wait until you file your taxes to get the credit. But the tax credit available through the Marketplace lets you get lower costs on your monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
If you qualify, you can take the tax credit in the form of advance payments to lower your monthly health plan premiums, which can help make insurance more affordable.
If you enroll in a Marketplace plan, you can control how much of the tax credit you want to use to get lower costs on your monthly health plan premiums. The tax credit is sent directly to your insurance company and applied to your premium, so you pay less out-of-pocket.
Medicaid and CHIP
Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) pay for doctor visits, shots, dental care, prescription drugs, hospital care, and more with little or no cost to families. To find out if a child is eligible for Medicaid or CHIP through the Marketplace, the parent living with the child needs to submit a Marketplace application and indicate that he or she wants to find out about help paying for health coverage.
What's Medicaid?
Medicaid provides health coverage to more than 50 million children, families, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Medicaid pays for a full set of services including preventive care, immunizations, screening and treatment of health conditions, doctor and hospital visits, and vision and dental care for all children and some adults. In most cases, these services are provided at no cost to families.
What's CHIP?
THe Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides free or low-cost health coverage for more than 7 million children up to 19. In some states, pregnant women can also get CHIP coverage. CHIP covers U.S. citizens and eligible immigrants. Each state CHIP program covers routine check-ups, immunizations, hospital care, dental care, and lab and X-ray services. Children covered by CHIP get free preventive care, but low premiums and other cost-sharing may be required for other services.