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Massachusetts Health Insurance Consumer Guide to Individual and Small Group Coverage

Consumer Guide to Individual and Small Groups

Introduction

If you live in Massachusetts and you are age 18 or over, you must have health insurance. This health insurance must be "minimum creditable coverage." This means that certain benefits must be covered in the plan and there are limits to how much you must pay for services. Until January 1, 2009, any health plan that can be legally sold in Massachusetts is minimum creditable coverage. By January 1, 2009, your plan must certain basic standards.

You will need to show that you have "minimum creditable coverage" when you file your state income tax return each year. This will start with your taxes for 2007. If you do not have health insurance, you may have a penalty on your state income tax. In tax year 2007, you will lose your personal exemption, which will be about $219 per person. In later years you may pay a penalty of up to half the cost of the least expensive plan available to you for each month that you do not have insurance.

It is important to be sure that you have health insurance under the new law. If you don't have health insurance or if you want to change your plan, you can buy a health plan from any insurance company that offers plans to individuals and small groups. Many companies in Massachusetts offer one or more health plans with a variety of plan designs and premiums. You can choose the one that best suits your needs.

This guide tells you some of the ways that you can buy a health plan in Massachusetts. It tells you about:

• your rights when you buy a health benefits plan;
• the companies that offer health plans; and
• how to contact these companies to learn more about their health plans.

Keep in mind that Medicare meets your need to have "minimum creditable coverage." If you have Medicare, you should look at the Massachusetts Bulletin for People with Medicare to learn more about health plans that are right for you.