Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/757641
December 2016 | Overdrive | 15 Open enrollment in the Affordable Care Act's health-insurance exchang- es will run through Jan. 31, by which date new plans will need to be in place and current plan holders will need to make any necessary changes. Staying uninsured in 2017 will mean a tax penalty of 2.5 percent of income, with caps on maximum pen- alties, unchanged from the prior year. Residents of states with a state-run ex- change should use that network; those in other states should use the federal exchange at HealthCare.gov. Marc Ballard, who assists with the National Association of Independent Truckers' private Truckers Insur- ance Exchange, estimates that "up to 2 million people will need to shop their plans due to the mass exodus of insurers" from the exchanges. Big names such as UnitedHealth, Aetna, Humana and others have either pulled out of the exchanges or reduced their offerings, and those who've stayed likely have raised their premiums. Kaiser Family Foundation data show that for buyers with a level of income sufficient to get a subsidy to cover part of the cost, no effect on premiums is expected. If your income is such that subsidies are out of reach, expect to pay more for the same plans. – Todd Dills Obamacare enrollment period ends in January STATES LEGALIZE MARIJUANA Voters in California, Maine, Massachu- setts and Nevada voted last month to legalize recreational marijuana in their states, while voters in Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota voted to legalize med- ical marijuana. Montana voted to loosen state restrictions on medical marijuana laws. The U.S. Department of Transpor- tation stands by its previous stance that smoking pot is illegal for truck drivers as long as it remains a Schedule I drug.