Insurance can be expensive. Thankfully, there are many forms of assistance that make health insurance more attainable and affordable for Americans. The Affordable Care Act created benefits like Tax Credits, no-cost preventive care, and CSR’s to assist millions of people.
What does CSR stand for, and what does it mean?
CSR stands for “cost-sharing reduction”. You may have seen or heard the term when shopping for health insurance. Cost-sharing reductions are essentially “extra-savings” that an individual or family can qualify for, on top of their tax credits. The “extra-savings” or CSR, lowers deductibles, coinsurance and copayments on Silver plans. A CSR also lowers the max out-of-pocket.
Here’s an example of how a CSR works:
Let’s say a certain Silver plan has a deductible of $3,000, a max out of pocket of $7,000, and a Primary Care copay of $40.
If you qualify for a CSR, it would change your plan. The deductible could go down to $0, the max out of pocket to $3,000, and a Primary Care copay of $5. This all depends on your income, so costs will vary. However, it could save you quite a bit of money on your healthcare costs.
Please note, these are not actual numbers, these numbers are just to give you an idea of how CSR’s work.
How does someone “obtain” a CSR?
When you are shopping for health insurance on the Marketplace, either by yourself or with a broker’s help, you’ll find out if you qualify for a tax-credit, as well as the “extra-savings” of a CSR. Tax-credits can be applied to any plan, but a CSR is only applicable to a Silver plan.
In order to qualify for a CSR, you have to meet the criteria based on your income. When you are shopping for health insurance on the Marketplace, you are asked for an estimate of your adjusted gross income, zip code, household size, and who will be on the plan. When you give the Marketplace that information, they calculate how much you should be able to afford for health insurance. To learn more about how a tax credit is calculated, click here.
If the Marketplace’s calculations show that an individual or family needs more assistance with healthcare costs, the Marketplace will give them a cost-sharing reduction that applies to any Silver plan of the individual or family’s choosing. To find out if you qualify for a CSR, click here.
What’s so important about CSR’s?
CSR’s make health insurance more attainable and affordable for those who need it, by significantly lowering their monthly and yearly costs for health insurance.
Your eligibility for CSR’s can vary year to year, depending on your income and household. If you want to see if you qualify for a CSR, you can call our office at 801-718-0051, or schedule an appointment with one of our licensed brokers using this link.
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