How do ACA laws work for U.S. expatriates? Especially when it comes to international group medical insurance benefits? When the U.S. federal government created the ACA (affordable care act) laws they did not realize the extra questions it would generate, especially for U.S. expatriates.
The key to all the ACA laws is that it is related to those residing/living in the U.S. for longer than six months (if you are an expat). If you change from expat status to U.S. resident status, not going back overseas, then you have up to two months (SEP – special enrollment period) to get on an ACA U.S. domestic insurance. Since the ACA laws have fines/penalties it falls also into the IRS jurisdiction. Thus, ACA is not only about your health insurance in the U.S, but also falls into the tax arena when we file our taxes each year. You may go here to our main PPACA page at Good Neighbor Insurance, https://www.gninsurance.com/resources/aca-impact-international-insurance/, for all the information related to expats and PPACA.
Good Neighbor Insurance is an international insurance broker for many international medical insurance companies. Below is information on some of the international insurance companies we represent relating to the ACA laws for U.S. expatriates.
You may be on a PPACA compliant plan now with Aetna International or with Cigna International, but you have not needed to be on one. Granted, the rules for individuals coming back to the States have been an evolving target, so being compliant is an easy fix. But all along the way, we have been able to obtain from MetLife and Aetna International non-compliant quotes. IMG and WEA have never really offered PPACA compliant plans because of the way they are licensed in the U.S. This is not an issue or a problem; it’s just different approaches to the international medical insurance market. It has turned out now, with the legislation in December, that expats are indeed not subject to PPACA plan rules as long as they are on a group plan where a “substantial number of people on that plan” are out of the country six or more months out of the year. So now Aetna and Metlife are all of a sudden willing to promote their non-compliant plans.
While some items continue to change with PPACA in regards to expats, the main tenant that we will stake our answers on right now is the new Clarification Act law in December 2014, which excludes individual expats from PPACA compliance, so long as they are part of an expat group plan. So overall, expats are exempt; so as long as they are on that group plan, they are exempt and can answer their IRS question on their taxes that they are exempt.
We at Good Neighbor Insurance are always here to serve our guests, you! Please call one of our trained international medical insurance agents at our toll free number, 866-636-9100 or email us at info@gninsurance.com. Or you may call our Arizona office at 480-633-9500.
