HERE is a great primer outlining what the Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act / Obamacare means for you as an individual, from HuffPost......
In a surprise decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act
passed in 2010. You will hear a lot of commentary from legal and policy
experts in the next few weeks about this decision, but this post is
about what the Court action means for YOU personally.
The outcry from the right will be deafening, and there will be
attempts by the House Republicans between now and November to take out
sections of the law, although the Senate Democratic majority is not
likely to approve any of those actions. Obviously, if the Republicans
win the presidency and the Senate in November, the ACA may not survive
to its full 2014 implementation date. Now is the time to acquaint
yourself with what the health reform law really means to you -- while
you still have it.
1. If you are employed and enjoy health insurance as part of your work benefit package:
The Affordable Care Act does not currently have a large impact on large
self-insured companies; however, as the law is fully implemented in
2014 and beyond, there is a chance that your employer may determine that
employees can get cheaper coverage through a state exchange and over
time some employers may drop employer-sponsored coverage. If you work
for one of those companies, you may actually have more choice of plans
through an exchange and depending on whether or not the employer
subsidizes you or you are eligible for a federal subsidy, you may pay
less than you do now. Until that time, you will see a few benefits of
the ACA -- no lifetime limits on your benefits; restrictions on annual
limits; preventive services without co-pays; and adult children allowed
to stay on parents' plans until age 26.
2. If you are lucky enough to be on Medicare: The
Affordable Care Act has brought seniors a number of significant benefits
already. The doughnut hole in prescription drug coverage is being
closed every year and will disappear by 2020. In 2011
alone, 3.6 million seniors saved $2.1 billion on their prescription
drugs because of health reform. Another benefit for seniors is the
preventive services that are available without co-pays and the 4% reduction in premiums for seniors enrolled in managed care Medicare plans (called Medicare Advantage) in 2012.
However, looming on the horizon if there is a Republican sweep in
November are big changes to Medicare, including a potential rollback of
the ACA benefits and a switch to a voucher system which would give you a
fixed amount to buy a plan without any guarantee that the amount would
be sufficient to cover what you currently have.
3. If you are self employed and have an individual insurance policy for yourself and your family:
Try to keep your policy if you can continue to afford it. Don't let it
lag because we do not know the outcome of the November elections, and if
the Act is overturned, you will be on the streets again, trying to get
coverage as an individual and potentially being turned down for
pre-existing conditions.
4. If you are uninsured but are hoping to be able to get it through the Affordable Care Act and a State Exchange:
The good news about the fact that the Court upheld the entire law is
that you will still have the option to buy insurance through an Exchange
in your state and if your state does not offer one, through a federal
exchange. And you will get help affording that premium via a federal
subsidy that will allow you to earn up to 400% of the federal poverty
level before the subsidy phases out. For those who have a pre-existing
condition, the law still guarantees that insurers must accept you
starting in 2014.
Again, the election in November will determine whether or not the positive features of the ACA will survive.
5. If you are a small employer and were hoping to be able to
help your employees get health insurance at a reasonable rate through
the state exchanges: There will still be options for you and
your employees. The state exchanges will be open to individuals and
small business, offering a variety of plan options at a variety of
prices, much like the Massachusetts exchange. Up to now, small
businesses have found it very expensive to insure their employees,
particularly if any of them have been sick.
If Republicans sweep the November elections, it won't matter how the
Supreme Court has ruled. The entire Affordable Care Act will be repealed
and the Republicans have no plan to replace it with a plan that could
make health care more affordable. Don't forget that the Republican plan
for health reform has only three or four main provisions -- protect
doctors with malpractice reform; allow fly-by-night insurers to sell
their "hospital gown" plans (looks good in the front but is bare in the
back) across state lines; and make you, the consumer "more accountable"
for your health care costs (translation: you pay more). There are many benefits of the Affordable Care Act. Educate yourself and fight to keep them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-bergthold/the-supreme-court-upholds_b_1626172.html?utm_hp_ref=daily-brief?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=062812&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BlogEntry&utm_term=Daily%20Brief
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