When we talk about the Obamacare subsidy cliff, we’re talking about the difference in what you’ll have to pay for health insurance premiums if you earn too much to qualify for subsidies vs. what you might have had to pay if you earned a little bit less.

If your salary puts your annual income at just over 400% of the federal poverty level (and hence you’re ineligible for subsidies), you may already be in the cliff. It’s possible, however, to fall into the subsidy cliff unexpectedly.

Since the amount of Affordable Care Act subsidy help you receive is based on your estimated income for the current year rather than your actual income for the past year, it’s possible to fall into the ACA subsidy cliff by underestimating your income for 2017. A little extra money that comes your way in December, for example, could push you over the edge. You may be required to pay back any subsidies you received.

Coverage requirements and penalties

     Under Obamacare most people are required to purchase coverage on their own unless they get qualified coverage through an employer or another source. Those who go without qualifying health insurance for more than two consecutive months risk a penalty on their federal taxes. Obamacare also require employers with more than 50 full-time workers (or the equivalent in part-time workers) to provide coverage to their employees or risk penalties.

                     Under the American Health Care Act no one would be required to purchase health insurance, and there would be no tax penalty for going uninsured. However, in an effort to discourage people from allowing their coverage to lapse, a one-year 30% surcharge may apply when you re-enroll in coverage after a significant gap. Employers would no longer be penalized for not providing health insurance to employees.

                     Between now and the 2020, the Department of Heath and Human Services (HHS) has proposed changes to the individual health insurance market to make it less vulnerable to people gaming the system. According to officials, too many people delay signing up for insurance until they’re sick and then drop coverage once they receive care.

                     To stop this, HHS proposes cutting the annual open enrollment period to six weeks to reduce the number of people who find out they’re sick during open enrollment and sign up for a policy.

                     HHS would also require people who sign up for health insurance during open enrollment to prove they qualify for a special enrollment period, due to a change in their life, like the loss of a job or a divorce.

                     The new HHS rules would also allow insurance companies to force consumers to pay any premiums they missed before the insurance companies issues them a new policy.

Disability insurance is meant to replace a percentage of your salary if you are sidelined by injury or illness and unable to work. It’s designed to cover expenses such as your mortgage and food, but it’s usually not enough to pay for the extra care you may need if you’re disabled. Typical employee benefit policies provide about 60 percent of your before-tax salary. You may be able to purchase additional coverage (up to 70 or 80 percent) for a small increase in cost.

However, three out of five people have no private disability coverage at all. Check with your employer to find out exactly what benefits you do have.

People are eligible for Social Security disability insurance benefits if they have earned enough Social Security credits and are unable to work because of a disability that has lasted or will last for at least 12 months, or is expected to end in death. But similar to standard private disability insurance, payments are unlikely to be sufficient to cover the added costs of long-term care.

In the Health Insurance Marketplace, you can get dental coverage two ways: as part of a health plan, or by itself through a separate, stand-alone dental plan.

IMPORTANT: You can’t buy a Marketplace dental plan unless you’re buying a health plan at the same time.

Dental coverage is available two ways

Health plans that include dental coverage. Dental coverage is included in some Marketplace health plans. You can see which plans include dental coverage when you compare them.

If a health plan includes dental, the premium covers both health and dental coverage.
Separate, stand-alone dental plans. In some cases separate, stand-alone plans are offered. You can see them when you shop for plans in the Marketplace.

If you choose a separate dental plan, you’ll pay a separate, additional premium.

Determining how much life insurance you need requires an examination of your current and future financial obligations, along with the resources your family could tap.

Your future obligations are a combination of what it would cost to help your surviving family members meet immediate and ongoing needs like funeral costs, taxes, food, clothing, utilities, mortgage payments, and your future obligations like college and retirement funding.

The resources that your surviving family members could draw on to meet those obligations include your spouse’s or partner’s income, savings and investments, other income producing assets, and any life insurance you might already own.

The difference between the two—your financial obligations minus the resources your family has to meet those obligations—is the approximate amount of additional life insurance you need. If this sounds confusing, you’re not alone. That’s why most people turn to a qualified insurance professional when they want to figure out how much insurance they need.