After years of debate and legal wrangling, the next stages of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also sometimes referred to as “ObamaCare”) are poised to take effect in October of this year when online health insurance exchanges go live.
Some provisions of the ACA are already in place, helping more Americans get health insurance. For instance, the ACA allows for children to remain on their parents’ insurance plans until they reach the age of 26 and is already helping seniors by increasing Medicare coverage and controlling costs. The ACA even closed the Medicare “donut hole” that forced many seniors to pay thousands of dollars for medicine that wasn’t previously covered.
In October, open enrollment will begin in the online marketplaces states will launch where consumers will be able to shop for health insurance plans of all shapes and sizes from a wide variety of providers. In Pennsylvania, the federal government will set up and administer the online exchange.
In the online marketplace, private insurance providers will compete for consumers’ business and you’ll have a variety of coverage and payment options at a variety of price points. All the plans offered at these exchanges will be required to cover basic services like hospital and doctor visits, maternity care, mental health care and prescription drugs.
What’s more, the federal government will offer tax credits for consumers purchasing insurance through the exchanges, making it even more affordable. (Tax credits will be available to those making up to 400% of the federal poverty level.)
The online marketplace will also require participating insurance providers to operate fairly under the guidelines set out by the ACA. Insurance providers will have to offer EVERYONE insurance — even if they have a pre-existing condition. They also have to charge men and women the same price and can’t charge more for pre-existing conditions!
Concerns that some people will wait until they get sick or injured to purchase insurance are being addressed by offering limited enrollment periods and fines for individuals who are able to and don’t get coverage.
In addition to incentives for individuals, some small business owners will be offered tax incentives to shop the marketplace for insurance coverage for their employees as well.
You can find out if you’ll be eligible for tax breaks or lower cost premiums and learn more about the online health insurance marketplace at healthcare.gov.