Affordable Care Act Notice

Your UC health plan helps you and your family pay for big and small health care bills. In the health insurance marketplace, plans are rated bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The minimum required plan is a bronze plan. Our plans meet the minimum legal requirements under health care reform. Since UC’s plans meet all the legal requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), you don’t need to take any action regarding the health insurance marketplace.

If you’re not eligible for UC benefits, the health insurance marketplace is a great way for you to purchase medical coverage. You also may be eligible for a federal subsidy to help you pay for coverage based on your income. The subsidy, sometimes called a premium tax credit, is a cash advance to help cover part of the cost of health insurance through a state exchange. The dollar amount is determined by family size, household income and the cost of plans in your state exchange. For more information about the health insurance marketplace in California, check out coveredca.com.

When key parts of the health care law took effect in 2014, there was a new way to buy health insurance: the health insurance marketplace. Here we provide some basic information about the marketplace and employment-based health coverage offered by UC.

The marketplace is designed to help you find health insurance that meets your needs and fits your budget. The marketplace offers one-stop shopping to find and compare private health insurance options. You also may be eligible for a new kind of tax credit that lowers your monthly premium right away. Open enrollment for health insurance coverage through the marketplace is held every year.

You may qualify to save money and lower your monthly premium, but only if your employer does not offer coverage, or offers coverage that doesn’t meet certain standards. The savings on your premium depends on your household income.

Yes. If you have an offer of employee health coverage from UC that meets certain standards, you will not be eligible for a tax credit through the marketplace. You may wish to enroll in a UC-sponsored health plan.

However, you may be eligible for a tax credit that lowers your monthly premium, or a reduction in certain cost sharing if:

• UC does not offer coverage to you at all; or
• UC does not offer coverage that meets certain standards.

Note: If you are eligible for employee coverage from UC and you purchase a health plan through the marketplace instead of accepting UC-sponsored health coverage, you then may lose the UC contribution to the UC-offered coverage. Also, the UC contribution — as well as your employee contribution to UC-sponsored coverage, if any — may be excluded from income for federal and state income tax purposes. Your payments for coverage through the marketplace are made on an after-tax basis.

For more information about UCSF-sponsored coverage, please visit the Benefits Eligibility page. 

The marketplace can help you evaluate your coverage options, including your eligibility for coverage through the marketplace and its cost. Please visit HealthCare.gov for more information, including an online application for health insurance coverage and contact information for a health insurance marketplace in your area.

To download this information as a pdf, please see the Affordable Care Act notice document.