Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, also known as Healthcare Reform) is a set of laws passed in 2010 that affect healthcare coverage in the United States. The law took effect in 2014, and provides you with a new way to buy health insurance, called the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Jump to Related FilesYour Benefits Through NOCCCD
Your wellbeing is important to us. The North Orange County Community College District (NOCCCD) continues offering health and wellness benefits to eligible regular employees to help them and their families stay healthy and provide financial protection against high medical costs. The plans we offer to eligible regular employees and the level of salaries we pay meets the standards for an “affordable healthcare plan” under federal law. In compliance with Federal law, the healthcare plans offered by NOCCCD include allowing dependents to remain on your plan until age 26, limiting your out‐of‐pocket and lifetime maximums, and removing coverage limitations for pre‐existing conditions.
Insurance Marketplaces (Exchanges)
You may have heard about new health insurance marketplaces, including Covered California for employees in our state. Individuals who are not offered qualified healthcare coverage through their employer may be eligible for government subsidies to help pay for health insurance premiums for plans purchased in these marketplaces (based on the level of their income and number of dependents). Due to the high standard of health coverage NOCCCD offers, a majority of our regular employees will not be eligible for these subsidies.
To find out more about the new insurance marketplaces, visit the Covered California website or the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Basic Information
This section contains information about any health coverage offered by your employer. If you decide to complete an application for coverage in Covered California, you will be asked to provide this information.
| Employer Name | North Orange County Community College District |
|---|---|
| Employer Identification Number (EIN) | 952394131 |
| Employer Address | 1830 W. Romneya Drive |
| City | Anaheim |
| State | CA |
| Zip Code | (714) 808-4800 |
| Who can we contact about employee health coverage at this job? | Department of HR / Benefits Office |
| Email Address | benefits@nocccd.edu |
As your employer, we offer a health plan to some employees. Eligible employees are:
- Classified and Confidential employees (Employed for at least 50%)
- Contract and regular/tenured faculty (Employed for at least 50% during the academic year)
- Management Employees
- Temporary Management employees (Employed for 100% of their contract year)
With respect to dependents, we do offer coverage. Eligible dependents are:
- Current spouse/registered domestic partner
- Natural, adopted, step, or registered domestic partner's children up to age 26
- Disabled children of any age if enrolled prior to age 26
- Children up to age 26 for whom the subscriber has assumed a parent-child relationship and is considered the primary care parent.
This coverage meets the minimum value standard, and the cost of this coverage to you is intended to be affordable, based on employee wages.
Marketplace FAQs for Employees
The Exchange/Marketplace is a new health insurance marketplace in each state. The Marketplaces are established under the Healthcare Reform Act that was passed in 2010. The Marketplace is an on-line site where individuals and smaller employers may go to purchase health insurance coverage for 2014.
Under federal law, beginning January 1, 2014 individuals will be required to have minimum essential health coverage, or else be subject to a penalty. This is referred to as the “individual mandate.” The Marketplace is intended to help individuals meet the individual mandate requirement by providing another place to purchase coverage, and possibly qualify for federal assistance to do so.
No. You may still obtain health coverage from other sources if you are eligible. To avoid the individual mandate penalty, you will want to confirm that the coverage you obtain provides “minimum essential coverage” under the rules.
Your employer, your spouse’s employer, Medicare (if eligible in your state), the individual market, etc.
Yes. Most employer plans will qualify as the coverage required under the individual mandate requirements. You do not need to purchase coverage through the Marketplace in order to avoid the individual mandate penalty. You may, if you would like, however.
Maybe yes. Maybe no.
Employers and Marketplaces have very specific rules around enrollment and disenrollment. In general, both have an annual open enrollment period (which will usually be different) and permit special enrollments during the year based on events such as marriage or birth of a child. Although these rules are similar, they are not identical. In addition, determining when you can change an election outside the annual open enrollment period will be determined by IRS regulations and the terms of the group health plan. Generally, employees may not change an election unless the employee experiences a change in status permitted by the IRS and allowed by the group health plan.
New Health Insurance Coverage Options and Your Health Coverage
Covered California can help you find health insurance that meets your needs and fits your budget. Covered California offers "onestop shopping" to find and compare private health insurance options. You may also be eligible for a new kind of tax credit that lowers your monthly premium right away. Once open enrollment has ended, consumers can enroll in a Covered California health insurance plan only if they have experienced a qualifying life event. Common types of qualifying life events that apply for special enrollment include:
- loss of other coverage
- Income changes
- change in dependent status
- new marriage or birth of a child.
Covered California will determine, on a case-by-case basis, if the consumer experienced an exceptional circumstance which could allow for a special enrollment period. (Consumers can enroll in Medi-Cal at any time.)