Health Insurance

5 What if I have Medicare? This brochure does not explain Medicare. • For information on Medicare call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov . • You can also call California’s Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) at 1-800-434-0222. HICAP provides free counseling and information on Medicare. • If you have a question about Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policies plans, you can call CDI at 1-800-927-4357. Do I have to buy health insurance? The Shared Responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires you to: • Have health coverage that meets certain minimum essential coverage requirements; • Qualify for an excemption; or • Pay a penalty to the IRS when you file your taxes. Your coverage can come from your job, a public program like Medi-Cal or Medicare or you can buy your own coverage for you and/or your family. It is important to make sure that your coverage meets the minimum essential requirements standard before you buy. See page 6 for more details on health insurance benefits. Thanks to healthcare reform, if you need to buy your own coverage, insurers cannot deny your application (during the annual open enrollment period) and you may qualify for financial assistance from the federal government.