President Obama has been elected to a second term, and the Affordable Care Act is here to stay. This is wonderful news for all Americans! The ACA has already provided benefits that many families have experienced. Those will continue, and more are coming up between now and 2014.
The Affordable Care Act was signed in 2010. The Supreme Court ruled, in June of 2012, that the Affordable Care Act will stand and will continue. As you are probably aware, the Republican party platform for the 2012 election emphasized their interest in repealing the Affordable Care Act. President Obama won the election and will have a second term. This means that the ACA is here to stay (for at least the next four years).
What does this mean for you, and your family? It means that the benefits and protections provided by the ACA will continue. You can continue to keep your adult child, who is between the ages of 18 and 26, covered by your health insurance policy.
Your insurance company cannot drop you because you reached a certain dollar amount of health care this year, and they can’t drop you for hitting a lifetime limit. You child cannot be denied health insurance coverage due to a pre-existing condition.
Your state will have a health insurance exchange. Many states have been working on creating their own health insurance exchange. Other states, with Republican governors, chose to wait to begin working on it until after they knew the results of the 2012 Presidential election.
Those states might not be prepared for the November 16, 2012, deadline to create their own health insurance exchange. Instead, the federal government will create one for them. In 2014, you will be able to use the exchanges to find affordable health insurance. It will let you do an apples-to-apples comparison between plans in order to find the best coverage at the best price.
The exchanges will automatically let you know if you qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. If so, you will be able to apply directly through the exchanges. This is going to be faster, and more efficient. This eliminates the need to fill out a paper application, mail it in, and wait for it to be processed before you can start receiving health care coverage. Your application can’t get lost in the mail, or lost in the government offices anymore.
Your insurance company will still have to spend at least 80% of the money that they receive from premiums on the medical bills of their customers and other things that actually improve the health of customers. If the insurer fails to do this you can expect to receive a rebate. These are just a few of the many benefits of the Affordable Care Act that will continue to provide protection to you and your family.
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