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October 2013 St@teside

Webinar Series: Helping Consumers Understand the New Marketplaces


On October 29, Manatt Health Solutions, with support from the State Health Reform Assistance Network (State Network), presented a webinar reviewing a primer that explains how the reconciliation of advance premium tax credits (APTCs) will work when consumers file their taxes. The webinar included a discussion of strategies consumers can use to minimize the need to repay any part of their APTC at the end of year, including accurately projecting household size and income, taking less in a premium tax credit in advance, and promptly reporting income and household changes. It also offered specific examples that demonstrate options and risks for consumers. The webinar slides are available here. A recording will be available shortly.

The APTC Reconciliation primer is the second in a series of three slide presentations that Manatt has developed, in conjunction with the State Network, to help states and their “assisters” address some of the issues most confounding consumers. The first primer provides more detailed information on APTCs and Cost-Sharing Reductions to help navigators, certified application counselors, and other assisters understand and be prepared to explain how they work in practice.

The third primer on Plan Selection Assistance will review factors consumers should consider when choosing among plans. Manatt will present this primer in a webinar on November 22 at 3:00pm EST. Presenters will help attendees understand plan variation across metal tiers by reviewing the interplay between premiums and cost-sharing at various metal levels and catastrophic coverage generally and with respect to specific services, noting among other things the range of preventive services that must be provided without any cost-sharing in all options. The webinar will use specific examples to demonstrate the implications of metal tier choice on premiums and cost-sharing for consumers of different ages and with different incomes and health care needs. Finally, the webinar will look at non-financial considerations in choosing a plan such as provider networks and formulary designs. To register for the Plan Selection Assistance webinar, visit this registration page.