The Affordable Care Act is the signature health reform bill passed by Congress and signed into law in March 2010. It features numerous comprehensive reforms designed to increase access to affordable health coverage for millions of Americans while curbing abusive practices by insurance providers.
Guaranteeing value for premium dollars by mandating insurers spend at least 80% of them on actual medical care and quality improvements rather than overhead or bonuses for executives, the act ensures maximum value for premium dollar spenders.
Costs
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) costs Americans money in many ways. It increases funding for Medicaid and CHIP while raising Medicare costs, adding taxes on health plans that are unsubsidized, and giving States freedom to test tort reforms that improve patient safety, foster innovation, and decrease liability insurance premiums.
Health reform ensures that at least 80 percent of your premium dollars go directly toward medical services and quality improvement instead of advertising and overhead, offering rebates back to consumers when insurers fail to do so. Medicare waste can also be cut by mandating large employers offer their employees access to marketplace health coverage options through these exchanges.
Coverage
The Affordable Care Act makes health insurance accessible and more affordable to millions of Americans who could previously not afford it, while making premium and cost-sharing costs more manageable. Furthermore, the Act prohibits insurance companies from cancelling coverage without evidence of fraud and provides for appeals of coverage determinations and claims determinations.
The Affordable Care Act is a complex piece of legislation with various titles, subtitles, and provisions, so it is crucial that you understand its ramifications for yourself and your family. For example, one requirement stipulates that insurance companies spend at least 80% of your premium dollar on healthcare or quality improvements (if they don’t they must issue you a rebate). Furthermore, this legislation prevents insurance providers from canceling coverage due to preexisting conditions or other reasons (like moving or having a baby).
Subsidies
The Affordable Care Act offers subsidies to people purchasing health insurance through exchanges. These subsidies are calculated based on your projected annual income; as a result, they only apply during the year in which they were received – so if it turns out your income exceeded expectations after you received a subsidy, any excess amounts may need to be returned back if applicable.
The Affordable Care Act has made health coverage more accessible for millions of Americans through premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions, with the House Budget Committee suggesting cutting them in order to address federal debt; however, any move by Democrats in Congress to do this would likely be overturned by an overwhelming majority. Furthermore, workers now have access to self-funded long-term care insurance plans that offer more flexibility and affordability than traditional plans.
Tax credits
The Affordable Care Act offers premium tax credits or subsidies to help families afford health insurance premiums. These discounts can either be directly applied to your monthly premium bill, or claimed as a refund on federal income taxes. They apply only when purchasing individual or family coverage through federal and state marketplaces known as exchanges.
The Affordable Care Act creates a competitive insurance market by pooling purchasing power and compelling insurers to compete on price, quality and service. Exchanges also ensure that even people with lower incomes can afford plans, setting maximum plan costs while permitting credits to vary based on fluctuations in household income.
Marketplaces
The Affordable Care Act has opened new health insurance marketplaces to assist Americans in purchasing coverage. These markets are available both to individuals and small businesses alike and designed to allow individuals and companies to compare options and calculate costs quickly while taking advantage of income-based premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions.
Law provides better value for premium dollars by mandating that insurance companies spend at least 80% of premium dollars on medical care and quality improvement; any shortfall must be rebated back to customers.
The Affordable Care Act has helped millions of Americans gain affordable health coverage via marketplaces that process applications for Medicaid and other government programs, as well as pooled purchasing power to get lower insurance prices.
