The Health Insurance Tax (HIT) – mandated by the Affordable Care Act to help pay for federal and state exchanges – was active in years 2014 thru 2016 and 2018. It was suspended in 2017 and 2019 in an effort to lower premiums.
Well, it’s back for 2020. To the tune of $15.5 billion allocated over fully insured plans based on market share.
One client received their renewal notice with an 8% increase. Then, the January premium statement arrived; one family of four had a new monthly premium of $2,029.66 plus a separate line item for an additional $61.50 for the HIT. That’s 3% more. $738 for the year!
Legislation introduced last February to permanently suspend the HIT, is stalled despite bi-partisan support.
FYI. Self-funded plans are exempt from the HIT. Just one of several reasons Level Funded plans (self-funded ‘lite’) for small businesses are gaining in popularity.
