CLOSE State regulators have given the OK to insurance rates under the Affordable Care Act that are 26.9% higher than last year on average. J.C. Reindl

Frank K. Welsh (Photo: Provided to the RGJ)

More, if not most, Nevada families and individuals are exempt from the shared responsibility tax requirement to have a qualified Obamacare plan.

There is no fine or tax assessed if the lowest-cost Bronze plan is considered unaffordable. For 2017, if the lowest-cost Bronze plan exceeds 8.16 percent of your annual income, you are exempt from purchasing Obamacare coverage. And every year as we age, and premiums increase, more and more of us are considered exempt from purchasing an Obamacare plan.

More: Local control is best for health care: Welsh

According to the Healthcare.gov website, you can claim this exemption on your 2017 and 2018 tax returns. For a 55-year-old couple in Washoe County, the annual premium for the lowest-cost Bronze plan is $11,378; therefore, if their combined income is between $64,000 to $139,000 for 2017 they are exempt, because the premium exceeds 8.16 percent. In 2018 they will pay $13,968, which increases that threshold to over $160,000.

For the same couple in 14 Nevada counties including Churchill, the cost is $23,856 annually! They could earn between $64,000 and $295,000 and still be exempt from the fine. And adding another layer of insult, the Bronze plans are narrow network, high deductible, in-state-only HMOs. Folks in Nevada who pay 100 percent of their premium don’t want an HMO; in fact, we go elsewhere for serious medical conditions, so we need a nationwide PPO. Families who live in border areas want to go to Salt Lake, Phoenix, Boise and San Francisco.

The major medical plans available in Nevada are ridiculously expensive, have extremely narrow networks, have little or no choice, and they may not even save your life. If you cannot go to the Mayo Clinic, UCLA Medical Center or other national facilities, you are endangering your family.

There is a common joke in Las Vegas that now aptly applies to all our state: Where do people in Nevada go when they are sick? The airport. Worst of all, now there are families who cannot afford the premium and are without any medical coverage. Great stewardship to the officials and so-called policy experts in Nevada.

Consult your tax adviser and make certain you did not pay a fine in past years for not having Obamacare if you were actually exempt, or if you would have planned differently based on this information available since 2010. Forbes Magazine, eHealth, Yahoo Finance and Business Wire, among other outlets, have reported that Obamacare premiums nationally would be unaffordable to most consumers not eligible for a subsidy in 2018. This is especially true in Nevada.

There are many alternatives to Obamacare, including medical sharing plans, so you don’t have to go without medical insurance, and it really is affordable.

Frank Welsh is a Reno native and local health care advocate. Contact him at Nevadahealthreform.com or by phone at 775-200-1524.

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