Affordable Care Act (ACA)
In today’s post, I am going to talk about the Affordable Care Act, also known as ACA or Obamacare.
What is ACA?
ACA health plan is the Affordable Care Act also known as “Obamacare”. These plans are sold on or off the exchange. Back on January 1, 2014, all individual health and medical policies were required to be compliant with the Affordable Care Act. Many people in most states use HealthCare.gov to apply for and enroll in health coverage. Otherwise, people will use their state’s website to enroll in individual/family health insurance. However, it is a good idea to speak with a licensed health insurance agent to discuss your options. ACA coverage, or Obamacare, is beneficial for people with pre-existing conditions such as cancer, heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, HIV, or for people who need in-vitro fertilization or maternity care. It is also beneficial for those who have a low income and find it hard to afford health insurance because it provides a subsidy for lower income people. It provides health insurance coverage, preventive care, and health care costs.
Obamacare originally mandated every individual get health insurance or pay a tax. However, due to changes in the Trump administration, the tax penalty was removed in 2019.
Benefits
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidizes health insurance for middle-income families. Also, it expands Medicaid to lower-income families. Affordable Care Act pays for the subsidies by a tax increase on some health care providers and high-income families. As we said above, pre-existing health conditions are not considered in ACA. You cannot be charged a higher premium or denied ACA health coverage on that basis.
Ways To Get ACA Plans
The enrollment period is from November 1 to December 15 unless you have a special enrollment, such as getting married, having a child, or other life events.
Employers generally offer cheaper plans for their employees. Also, we can shop for plans from the marketplace. Moreover, you can also exchange plans there. Insurance companies offer their individual plans for people to buy.
If you are an employer with more than 50 employees, the Affordable Care Act requires that at least 95% of the full-time employees are offered affordable coverage. Working for 30 or more than 30 hours per week is full-time under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The Short term medical and health plans provide coverage over a limited time of 30 to 364 days depending on your state of residency. However, they do have pre-existing conditions evaluation and can be more restrictive for those with existing diseases. Also, they have lower premiums per month.
Requirements
- Must be living in the United States
- Must be a US citizen or a legal resident
- Cannot be incarcerated
Some of the short term plans are available with IHC or Pivot health insurance.
There are chances that even after you have the best of ACA health plan, it does not cover everything. You must cross-check with your plan and have additional coverage for accidents, critical illness, and dental and vision.
To get help and pricing for your insurance needs, call us at 1-844-410-1320 or request an agent here.
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