Day-in and day-out we help people get health insurance through The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare”. Just like Medicare it is based on the law which makes it complicated. The bottom line is ACA helps people who otherwise might not be able to have insurance to be able to have access to affordable quality health insurance.
Below is a Simple Guide to the Affordable Care Act and what the ACA did:
Expanded Health Insurance
- Individual Mandate
• What it means: When the law was first signed most people were required to have health insurance. Thankfully this mandate was removed starting in 2019 so people did not have to pay a fine.
• Why The Was important: This encourages everyone to get health insurance, which helps spread the costs among more people. - Employer Requirement
• What it means: Big companies, those with 50 or more employees, must offer health insurance to their workers or pay a penalty.
• Why it’s important: This helps ensure that people who work for large companies have access to health insurance through their jobs. - Medicaid Expansion
• What it means: Medicaid, which is health insurance for low-income people, was expanded to cover more individuals and families. However, states can choose whether to participate in this expansion.
• Why it’s important: This allows more low-income people to get health insurance. - Health Insurance Marketplaces
• What it means: These are websites where people can compare and buy different health insurance plans. In Virginia we have a state-based system called the Virginia Insurance Marketplace. We can help you complete the application and find the right plan for you.
• Why it’s important: It makes it easier for people to find and choose a health insurance plan that works for them. - Financial Help
• What it means: The government provides subsidies and tax credits to help people pay for insurance if they earn between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.
• Why it’s important: This makes insurance more affordable for people who might not be able to pay for it otherwise. (You must be as accurate as possible when estimating your income for the year so you do not have to pay back the subsidy.)
Insurance Reforms
- Pre-existing Conditions
• What it means: Insurance companies can’t refuse to cover you or charge you more if you have a pre-existing health condition.
• Why it’s important: This ensures that everyone can get health insurance, even if they’re already sick. - Essential Benefits
• What it means: Insurance plans must cover a basic set of services like emergency care, maternity care, mental health services, and prescription drugs.
• Why it’s important: This guarantees that all insurance plans provide a minimum level of coverage for important health services.
Preventive Care
• What it means: Certain preventive services, like vaccines and health screenings, must be covered at no extra cost to you.
• Why it’s important: This encourages people to get preventive care, which can catch health issues early and keep people healthier.
Young Adults
• What it means: Young adults can stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they turn 26.
• Why it’s important: This helps young people, who might not have jobs with health insurance, stay covered.
Controlling Costs
- Spending Rules
• What it means: Insurance companies must spend at least 80-85% of premium money on medical care and quality improvements, not on administrative costs or profits.
• Why it’s important: This ensures that most of the money you pay for insurance goes towards your healthcare. - Premium Increases
• What it means: Insurance premium hikes must be reviewed to ensure they are fair.
• Why it’s important: This helps prevent unreasonable increases in the cost of insurance. - Better Care Coordination
• What it means: Encourages healthcare providers to work together to offer high-quality, efficient care.
• Why it’s important: This can improve the quality of care and reduce unnecessary costs.
Improving Quality of Care
- Value-Based Payments
• What it means: Shifts from paying for each service separately to paying based on the quality and efficiency of care.
• Why it’s important: This encourages healthcare providers to focus on providing better care, not just more care. - Hospital Readmissions
• What it means: Reduces payments to hospitals with high rates of patients returning soon after discharge.
• Why it’s important: This encourages hospitals to provide better care so patients don’t have to come back as often. - Innovation
• What it means: Supports new ways to improve healthcare delivery and payment systems.
• Why it’s important: This can lead to better and more efficient ways of providing healthcare.
Promoting Public Health
- Prevention Fund
• What it means: Money set aside for programs that prevent disease and promote health.
• Why it’s important: This helps keep people healthy and can reduce healthcare costs in the long run. - National Prevention Strategy
• What it means: A plan to improve Americans’ health through wellness initiatives.
• Why it’s important: This encourages a focus on staying healthy, not just treating illness.
Other Important Aspects
- Healthcare Workforce
• What it means: More funding for training and education to increase the number of healthcare workers.
• Why it’s important: This helps ensure there are enough healthcare providers to meet people’s needs. - Community Health Centers
• What it means: More funding to expand healthcare access in underserved areas.
• Why it’s important: This helps people in areas with few doctors or hospitals get the care they need. - Long-Term Care
• What it means: Created a voluntary long-term care insurance program, though it was later repealed.
• Why it’s important: This was intended to help people plan for their future care needs.
In summary, the Affordable Care Act was designed to help more people get health insurance, improve the quality of healthcare, and make it more affordable. It includes a lot of different parts to try to cover all these goals.
At ITK Insurance Services we are here to help you with your Marketplace Application, Plan Selection and answer your questions. Give us a call at 757-933-3688 if we can help you.