Tomorrow October 1, 2013 The Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) will begin open enrollment, so I thought I’d take this time to share some important facts with those of you concerned or confused about it.
“Obamacare” is actually the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a set of health reforms passed by the Congress and signed into law by President Obama in March of 2010.
“The law itself touches on everything from how hospitals are reimbursed for care to whether chain restaurants post calorie counts on their menus. But, generally, by “Obamacare” most people mean the provisions of the law that relate to the efforts to insure about 30 million Americans through subsidized private insurance or government-provided Medicaid.”
For now I will only focus on the information regarding insurance; you may visit www.healthcare.gov for more information and more importantly to fill out a quick questionnaire to see if you are eligible for government assistance in paying for your health insurance.
“African Americans make up nearly 20 percent of 48.61 million people in this country who are living without health insurance coverage, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey.”
Please note If you have health insurance at work or from the government there is no need to change that coverage. Obamacare is mainly for the 20 percent of Americans who are either uninsured or get insurance on the individual “non-group” market. This new online marketplace created by Obamacare is set up to allow those that do not have coverage to shop for the best rates for themselves and their family. (See the video above for a brief explanation of the marketplace)
There is also a chance that you maybe eligible for assistance in paying for your health insurance but not everyone will be eligible, it depends on where you fall on the federal poverty level. A single individual w/ no children, making up to About $42,000 a year can be eligible for a subsidy(assistance). A family of 4, can be eligible if making up to about $94,000 a year.
How do you check to see if you are eligible?
Go to www.healthcare.gov and fill out the quick questionnaire.
How much information will you have to share with the government?
Only the basics: name, age, address, income and the size of your family. You will have to tell whether you use tobacco or not. If you do that will cost you a surcharge for smoking (which is a bad habit anyway!) You won’t have to share information about your health status or doctor.
What does the insurance cover?
The insurance basically covers the “essentials” like regular checkups, hospital emergency visits, ambulance use, maternity and newborn care; mental health, preventive and wellness services, chronic disease management and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.
How much will you have to pay?
This largely depends on what kind of insurance you want, your state, age, health and income. The fastest way to figure out your costs is to go to www.HealthCare.gov.
Important Dates
OCT.1 – Open Enrollment for Insurance Begins
JAN. 1 – Insurance Coverage Begins
MAR 31 – Open Enrollment for Insurance Closes! (after this date you’re out of luck for buying insurance in 2014.)
What happens if you do not have insurance and do not want to sign up for Obamacare?
If you decide not to purchase coverage, you will have to pay a $95 tax penalty. This would be deducted from your 2015 tax return, this is the only thing the government can do if you do not have insurance. If you do not have a tax return for that particular year, they will charge the $95 to the following year’s return.
* A word on Medicaid*
New Medicaid guidelines are expanding so people who may have not been eligible in the past, may now be. BUT congress gave the states the right to decide if they want to expand the guidelines or not and many states have chosen not to leaving only 26 states that have expanded.
Have more questions about Obamacare? Read this detailed article
Source: Washington Post
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