Overdrive

March 2015

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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March 2015 | Overdrive | 31 ©2015 Drivewyze is a trademark of Intelligent Imaging Systems inc. It's time to lose the wait. The nation's largest weigh station bypass service. Visit Drivewyze.com to begin your 30 day free trial and start skipping the scales today. 1-888-988-1590 Stop waiting in line and start bypassing the scales with Drivewyze™, the nation's largest weigh station bypass service. Drivewyze works on your smartphone or tablet, instead of a traditional transponder. It's easy to get started: just download the app. Independent Drivers Association's own private exchange (OOIDA.com, click "Benefits & Services") said in late January that inquiries had been heavy. Though enrollments also were picking up, with just a few weeks to go during the enrollment period, she said actual enrollments in compliant insurance plans via the exchange at that time were only at about half of the total number of OOIDA members enrolled during the first 2013-14 open enrollment period. United Healthcare, one of the big insur- ance carriers that declined to participate in the 2013-14 enrollment, entered the market this time, says Marc Ballard, a Florida-based independent insurance broker. "Bringing more carriers in – that competition helps sometimes to bring costs down," he says. "We'll see in the long run how that impacts rates next year." As the initially disastrous 2013-14 (Continued on Page 81) In a podcast aired in January, Marc Bal- lard of the Truckers Insurance Exchange discussed Affordable Care Act-related issues. He offered tips for shopping on the health-insurance exchanges and what to consider if you're facing the decision on whether to opt for health coverage or pay the pen- alty for not carrying insurance. • Premium discounts/subsidies are based on what the IRS calls modi- fi ed adjusted gross income, not simply gross income. Based on income data from trucking-accounting fi rms, Ballard estimates about half of truckers prob- ably qualify for a subsidy but that many don't know it. • For those who auto-renewed policies on the exchanges this year, shopping for a better deal might be advisable because of rising competition among insurers. • Take care in estimating your income. Underestimation could cause operators purchasing on the exchanges to later owe back part of any subsidy they garnered. • So-called "limited medical" plans that specify a defined benefit for a particular medical service by and large aren't ACA-compliant. Though a lot of owner-operators remain covered by such plans, such operators also will be responsible for penalties assessed for not having compliant coverage under the ACA. Scan the QR with your mobile device to hear the podcast. Alternately, find it via OverdriveOnline. com, search "Obamacare." TIPS FOR MAKING OBAMACARE DECISIONS

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