The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates individuals have health insurance or face penalties. The Act also created marketplaces so individuals could compare Obamacare plans.
The Affordable Care Act regulates healthcare costs by offering subsidies and cost assistance programs, and by imposing taxes on health insurers and drug companies.
Cost
Obamacare plans can vary in cost depending on your state and coverage selection. The Affordable Care Act marketplace offers plans suitable for families and individuals with preexisting conditions as well as government subsidies available to low income Americans – these subsidies make monthly premium payments much more manageable.
The Affordable Care Act marketplace offers four metal levels for health insurance plans: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum plans. Each plan comes with its own monthly premium cost; Bronze plans have lower costs while Silver and Gold plans offer greater coverage after meeting your deductible threshold.
If you need a more cost-effective option, short-term health insurance plans offer major medical expense coverage for limited durations. They do not cover maternity or preventive services but can still be obtained throughout the year at affordable rates.
Coverage
Before the Affordable Care Act was implemented, consumers without health insurance often only received half the healthcare services available to those with insurance. Under the ACA’s requirements for health insurers to offer more coverage – and help protect consumers against costly or debilitating diseases through screenings, doctor visits, preventive services that save you money in the long run – health insurers now must offer greater services that may save their patients both money and suffering in time.
The Affordable Care Act offers you additional tools to make healthcare more affordable, such as cost-sharing reductions and advance premium tax credits, which can help pay your monthly premium, deductibles, and copayments. These subsidies are available regardless of whether your plan is purchased through a Marketplace or not;
Dependent upon your income, there are four different kinds of coverage to consider when selecting an insurer: bronze plans usually feature lower monthly premiums with higher deductibles; silver plans tend to offer moderate costs; or you could select the more costly platinum plan which offers high monthly premiums but low out-of-pocket costs.
Eligibility
Before the Affordable Care Act was in place, health insurance could often be unaffordable to those without employer-sponsored plans. Now however, with its implementation comes more affordable coverage that covers preexisting conditions and other health concerns as well as marketplaces to assist consumers in reviewing all their available options and making informed decisions about them.
Obamacare has introduced new terms for different kinds of health insurance coverage, such as “metal levels.” A metal level designation signifies how much an insurance plan costs and what coverage it includes; for instance, Silver plans often have lower deductibles than Bronze ones.
Individuals whose household income falls within 400% of the federal poverty level may qualify for an ACA premium subsidy, meaning their premium payment for the second lowest-cost Silver plan available through marketplace is less than 8.5% of their household income. Subsidies end when income exceeds 400% of poverty level.
Taxes
The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare requires individuals to have health insurance or pay a fee; penalties are designed to encourage continued coverage throughout the year and discourage uninsured people from adversely impacting the market. Small businesses offering health coverage to employees must also adhere to ACA requirements.
Individuals meeting certain income requirements and enrolling during either open enrollment or special enrollment periods such as when experiencing a qualifying life event may qualify for Affordable Care Act Premium Tax Credits to lower the cost of health plans purchased through marketplace and reduce out-of-pocket medical costs.
Individuals eligible for premium tax credits can use them to purchase any health plan sold through the marketplace – silver, gold or platinum plans alike – provided their premium tax credit amount remains constant; however, any differences in deductibles and copayments between plans may exist.
