Maryland
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - The Maryland Insurance Administration says carriers have notified the state that they plan to discontinue non-grandfathered individual health benefit plans affecting more than 73,000 members in Maryland next year.
Individual health insurance policies are being canceled for millions of people nationwide who buy individual insurance policies as federal health care reform requires plans to cover certain benefits. Policies are being discontinued because they don't meet the higher benefit requirements of the Affordable Care Act.
The law also caps annual out-of-pocket costs consumers will pay each year.
People can buy different policies directly from insurers for 2014 or sign up for plans on the state's insurance exchange.
Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A new study says about 518,000 Virginia residents will be eligible for tax credits under the federal health care reform law if they purchase coverage through new health insurance marketplaces.
The state-by-state analysis was conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Only eight states will have more residents eligible for tax credits than Virginia. Texas tops the list at 2 million residents.
Nationally, an estimated 17 million people will be eligible for the credits. To qualify, people must earn between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. That's between $23,550 and $94,200 annually for a family of four. They also must not be eligible for affordable coverage from an employer or from Medicaid or Medicare.
