HOW WILL THE NEW HEALTHCARE LAW AFFECT YOU?

Watch This Fantastic Video from the Kaiser Foundation - Watch All the Way Through So You Get All the Facts







FROM HEALTHCARE.GOV

Individuals and the Affordable Care Act

The health care law helps improve care and lower costs for healthy individuals and people with health conditions. When key parts of the health care law take effect in 2014, there’ll be a new way to get health insurance: the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Marketplace is designed to help you find health insurance that fits your budget, with less hassle.

 

 

PREVENTION AND WELLNESS VIDEO

 

 

 

Healthy Individuals and the Affordable Care Act

 

Even if you’re healthy now, sooner or later there will come a time when you will need health insurance. Not having health insurance when you need it can result in large amounts of debt and bad credit ratings. Worrying about health insurance and the cost of your care is the last thing you want to do. The Affordable Care Act is expanding your options for health insurance and making them more affordable.Find out how you can get a break on costs.

5 Things to Know for Healthy Individuals

1. Under the health care law, insurance companies can no longer drop you when you get sick just because you made a mistake on your coverage application.
2. Parents have new options to cover their children. If you have children under age 26, you can insure them if your policy allows for dependent coverage. The only exception is if you have an existing job-based plan, and your children can get their own job-based coverage.
3. Job-based health plans and new individual plans are no longer allowed to deny or exclude coverage to any child under age 19 based on health conditions, including babies born with health problems.
4. Starting in 2014, if your income is less than the equivalent of about $88,000 for a family of four today and your job doesn’t offer affordable coverage, you may get tax credits to help pay for insurance.
5. Starting in 2014, if your employer doesn’t offer insurance, you will be able to buy insurance directly in the Health Insurance Marketplace that gives you power similar to what large businesses and members of Congress have to get better choices and lower prices.

Individuals with Health Conditions and the Affordable Care Act

If you have a health condition, you know how important having health insurance is and how expensive it can be. Worrying about where to get coverage and the cost of your care is the last thing you want to do when you are dealing with chronic illness. The health care law is expanding your options for health insurance and making them more affordable.

7 Things to Know for Individuals with Health Conditions

For More Information

• Download and print this brochure: The Health Care Law & You (PDF: English 8.99 MB, Spanish 8.3 MB).
• Find out how the how the health care law benefits you.
• Share educational materials with others.
• See real stories from people like you about the benefits of the law.
• Get email updates on the Health Insurance Marketplace and more.

1. Under the health care law, if you have been uninsured for at least six months and have a health condition, you may be able to get health insurance through the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.
2. If a new insurance plan doesn’t pay for services you believe were covered, you now have new, clear options to appeal the decision.

 

1. Insurance companies can no longer drop you when you get sick just because you made a mistake on your coverage application.

 

1. Starting in 2014, job-based and new individual plans won’t be able to exclude you from coverage or charge you a higher premium for a pre-existing condition, including a disability.

 

1. Starting in 2014, if your income is less than the equivalent of about $88,000 for a family of four today, and your job doesn’t offer affordable coverage, you may get tax credits to help pay for insurance.

 

1. If you have insurance and have problems with your plan or questions about your coverage, get help through the Consumer Assistance Program.

 

1. If you have been rejected for insurance, learn more about your rights and find out how to appeal denied claims.

 SEE FAMILIES HERE


SEE SENIORS AND OTHERS HERE


KEY FEATURES OF THE LAW


HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACE


HEALTHCARE.GOV HOME PAGE


Update: 

How do I apply for Marketplace coverage? (other choices besides the website)


"How to Navigate the New Insurance Marketplace" Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 17, 2013

HEALTHCARE LAW HELPS SENIORS SAVE ON DRUG COSTS AND PREVENTIVE CARE

SHERROD BROWN NEWSLETTER :

Healthcare Law Helps Seniors Save on Drug Costs

Seniors have saved millions of dollars on prescription drugs as a result of the health care law – the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This law has enabled Ohioans in the so-called “donut hole” – the period of time when private Medicare insurance no longer covers prescription drugs – to save millions on prescription drug costs. Prior to the health law, the donut hole left seniors with huge out-of-pocket costs that may cause them to have to choose between medicine and food. Over the past three years, the added coverage for seniors as a result of the health law has saved Americans $5.7 billion nationwide.   “Ohio’s seniors have worked hard, paid into Medicare, and deserve health care options that truly meet their needs,” Brown said. “Under the health law, coverage for our seniors continues to improve.”    The new health law has also helped put money back in patients’ pockets. In 2010, thanks to the health law, Ohio seniors who hit the coverage gap “donut hole” received a one-time $250 rebate. In 2011, Medicare recipients began receiving a 50 percent discount on covered brand name drugs. Seniors in the “donut hole” also saw additional coverage of generic drugs costs. Coverage for both brand name and generic drugs in the gap will continue to increase until 2020, when the coverage gap will be eliminated. Ohio seniors have saved over $278.7 million on prescription drugs since the passage of the health law with an average per beneficiary savings of $774.   These added benefits have helped guarantee that seniors and people with disabilities receive the medicine and care they deserve after years of hard work. Covering the Medicare “donut hole” is just one of the many ways the health law is benefitting Ohioans.   Also thanks to the health law, seniors have access to free preventive services. These services include cancer screenings, such as colonoscopies and mammograms, and an annual wellness visit. Because cost barriers have been removed, more than 903,000 Ohioans with traditional Medicare took advantage of at least one preventive service in 2012. Because of Medicare, nearly 98 percent of seniors have health coverage and more than 90 percent live above the poverty line. Senator Brown will continue to make sure Ohioans – especially seniors – receive the health care they deserve.