President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 with an aim of expanding coverage, protecting consumers, lowering costs and expanding access to health insurance for millions of people nationwide.
But as soon as the Affordable Care Act expires, changes could come for millions of Americans. Here are a few considerations as we await new laws.
Costs
There are various factors that impact the cost of health care under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), such as age, location, family size, income and the type of plan you select.
As an example, your costs could increase if you smoke; depending on your state of residence, assistance may be available to offset some of your out-of-pocket expenses.
Obamacare’s tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies can significantly lower the cost of health insurance coverage for millions of Americans – saving an average of $508 every month!
Premium costs depend on several factors, including age, family size, smoking status and type of plan selected. Typically, costs tend to be lower for younger or lower income individuals.
Coverage
The Affordable Care Act made health insurance easier for Americans by restructuring the individual market and mandating health insurers to spend at least 80% of premiums on actual medical care rather than overhead and profits.
Obamacare plans are divided into four metal tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Each plan offers different cost-sharing levels (how much you have to pay out of your own pocket when receiving care) and premiums.
Silver plans typically feature higher premiums but reduce out-of-pocket expenses such as deductibles and coinsurance when receiving care, depending on your income level and location. The difference in these costs will depend on which plan best meets your needs.
Prior to the ACA, those suffering from chronic illnesses or reaching their dollar limit in insurance plans ran the risk of running out of coverage due to annual or lifetime limits imposed by their plan. Now however, those covered under Essential Health Benefit plans no longer face lifetime limits; over 105 million Americans currently do not.
Preventive Care
Preventive health care is an integral component of good healthcare. This may involve screenings, immunizations or any other preventive services designed to keep you healthy while early detection of potential issues.
Preventive care may be covered under your health insurance plan for free, so check your benefits booklet or contact your insurer to see if these services are eligible to you.
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), private health plans must cover certain preventive services without cost sharing for adults, such as cancer screenings and cholesterol tests, among other tests and treatments. These services include cancer screenings and cholesterol tests as well as various other forms of medical screenings and treatments.
Organizations such as the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recommend such services for infants, children, and adolescents at higher risk of disease. Some of these recommendations also pertain to specific populations such as HIV-positive individuals who must take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pills to protect themselves against HIV infection; HIV-negative individuals must also receive Prevnar or PrEP pills to protect themselves against possible HIV infection; Additionally, The Affordable Care Act covers other services for infants, children, and adolescents such as well child visits, immunizations, behavioral assessments as well as screening for autism, vision impairment lipid disorders or tuberculosis among others.
Taxes
When the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 2010, it marked an incredible leap forward for our health care system. The goal was to make affordable healthcare available to every American while also including key consumer safeguards.
An essential aspect of the Affordable Care Act was an individual mandate requiring all Americans to either have health coverage or pay a penalty. While this mandate has since been repealed at a federal level, certain states still enforce it.
Repeal of the individual mandate would result in 20 million Americans losing health coverage and millions more incurring higher healthcare and insurance costs, as well as transfer billions annually to high-income households and corporations.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established a Medicare tax on high earners and investment income tax for couples earning over $250,000 or single filers earning over $200,000. Additionally, an administration fee on pharmaceutical companies was assessed according to sales of brand-name drugs.
