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Affordable Health Insurance in New Jersey: What Most People Don't Know
Five facts most New Jerseyans learn the expensive way.
1. "Affordable" on the marketplace means subsidized
Get Covered New Jersey prices are designed to be offset by the premium tax credit. Without it, you're paying the full cost of a guaranteed-issue pool.
2. There's a second market
Private shared-network plans on MagnaCare and Cigna PPO price on health instead of income. For healthy people above the subsidy line they're often half the price, with a PPO.
3. Your doctor probably takes the PPO, not the HMO
National PPO networks are what most employer plans use. Many doctors in Newark and Jersey City are in the MagnaCare and Cigna PPO network and not in the narrow marketplace HMOs.
4. You can enroll in a private plan any month
No waiting for November. Apply by the 20th, coverage on the 1st.
5. The deduction applies either way
New Jersey has a progressive state income tax, so a self-employed health premium deduction is worth more here than in a no-tax state.
And one New Jersey-specific thing
New Jersey does not allow short-term medical plans, so the private alternatives here are the shared-network PPO plans rather than short-term coverage.
Check your options to see what affordable actually looks like for your situation.