How to Take Advantage of the Changes Made by the Affordable Health Care Act

The Affordable Health Care Act is very controversial, but it is the law of the land. That means that every American family needs to learn all they can about the Act and how they can select health insurance that will allow them to benefit the most from the Act.

Fortunately, there are several advantages to the Affordable Health Care Act that can help most families. Make sure that you are utilizing these parts of the law.

1. No copayment or co-insurance for preventative care. Under the ACA, insurers must provide certain preventative health services to customers without making those customers pay a copayment or co-insurance. This includes vaccinations, an annual physical, and many other routine tests and procedures. It has been in multiple studies that these procedures will decrease your chances of falling ill or getting a variety of diseases from the common cold to heart disease. This means that it is to your advantage to get any and all free screenings and other preventative services.

2. Patient’s Bill of Rights. The ACA has specified the specific rights that patients’ have when making appointments, visiting their doctors, or being admitted to the hospital. This list states that your insurance cannot be withdrawn at any time, that you have the right to keep your doctor, and much more. Use this bill of rights when finding a new doctor or when you are trying to negotiate with your insurance company.

3. Premium dollars must be spent on healthcare. According to the law, no more than twenty percent of the premiums you pay can go towards administrative costs, including profit for the insurance companies. For large insurers, the amount is no more than fifteen percent. This means that more of the money you pay will go towards providing you with health care, and not into the insurance company’s overhead costs such as marketing and administration. The law also provides for rebates to customers of insurance companies that fail to meet these targets.

4. The Insurance Exchanges. Beginning in January 2014, individuals and small businesses will have the ability to compare some insurance policies on government-managed insurance exchanges. The exchanges will offer “traditional” policies only, and the law mandates that policies offered on the exchanges include all of the essential health benefits specified by the government. For individuals earning up to roughly $44,000, tax credit subsidies will be available for the purchase of exchange insurance products – but these credits are on a sliding scale, and individuals on the upper end of that scale will still be asked to contribute a set percentage of their income towards the policy purchase. Be advised that to enroll in an exchange product, you must do so during the “enrollment period” which will be over the course of a number of weeks each fall.

5. The Individual Penalty. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of the ability of the federal government to collect a tax penalty from those Americans that don’t maintain adequate health care coverage. This is one of the most controversial and hotly debated portions of the law, and is sure to be a big topic when the penalty begins in 2014-2015. In the first year, a person making $50,000 per year would be assessed a $500 penalty (1% of their income) for failing to maintain such a policy. Not all insurance products will satisfy the individual mandate, and you should ask your agent whether or not your policy is compliant with this requirement. Nevertheless, it is expected that many Americans will continue to choose the most affordable coverage option even if they have to pay a tax penalty for doing so. In addition to these big advantages, the ACA also allows adult children to stay on their parent’s insurance until they are 26 (a big advantage for young adults who are working part-time while going to school), makes several provisions to ensure that minor children receive health care, and much more.