Obamacare and Health Insurance

ObamaCare Provisions at a Glanceobamacare

The following is a list of key ACA (Affordable Care Act = “ObamaCare”) provisions (with the implementation date in parentheses, where applicable):

  • Dependents may be covered by their parents’ insurance plans until they turn 26 (9/23/10).
  • Insurers may not cancel policies when policy holders become sick (9/23/10).
  • State health insurance exchanges (the “Health Insurance Marketplace”) allow businesses and individuals to compare plans and enroll for coverage (10/1/2013).
  • Insurers may not place a lifetime monetary limit on hospital stays or other benefits deemed “essential” in new policies (1/1/14).
  • Insurers may not deny coverage to individuals for pre-existing conditions, and must offer the same premiums within the same age and geographical group regardless of gender and pre-existing conditions, except tobacco use (1/1/14).
  • Individual mandate takes effect, requiring all individuals (with some limited exceptions) to carry health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Subsidies will help low-income people comply with this mandate (1/1/14). Congress passed a tax law in December 2017 repealing the individual mandate. This means there will no longer be a penalty to the federal government for not maintaining coverage starting in 2019. However, there are some states that are restoring the individual mandate to buy health insurance effective 2020. Those states are: California, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, District of Columbia. And the following states are considering the individual mandate: Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington.
  • Medicaid eligibility expands to include those earning 133 percent of the official poverty level, including adults without dependents, in participating states (1/1/14).
  • Subsidies (in the form of refundable tax credits) available on the State health insurance exchanges for individuals with a household income up to 400 percent of the official poverty level (1/1/14).
  • Minimum standards for health insurance policies enforced (1/1/14).
  • Employers may not require employees to wait more than 90 days for health insurance eligibility (1/1/14).
  • Tax credits offered to small businesses (25 or fewer full-time employees, defined as 30 hours per week) for compliance with ACA (1/1/14).
  • Larger employers (more than 50 full-time employees) will be charged a penalty per full-time employee that lacks health coverage (Originally 1/1/14 but later postponed to 2015 – 2016).

See more at www.HealthCare.gov

I can assist individuals, families and small businesses get health insurance coverage in the states of Washington, Oregon and California.