2014 Health Insurance Changes Coming as Part of Obamacare

in HEALTH INSURANCE

2014 Health Insurance

Health Insurance Reform – Obamacare 2014

Otherwise known as Obamacare 2014 is the year that the Affordable Care Act will go into full implementation. There are many questions and concerns surrounding this legislation. However, many other people are not even aware of the pending changes.

Here is what you should understand about the changes coming in 2014 health insurance plans.

Pre-Existing Conditions

Americans rejoiced at the idea that they would no longer be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions. However, that particular rule will not go into effect until the beginning of 2014. People who have heart conditions, diabetes and other serious illnesses may continue to be denied coverage until this part of the law changes after the new year. However, most open enrollment periods are in October, so this is when people should start looking at insurance plans through their employer to find the right one for their needs.

Affordable Insurance Questions

The Affordable Care Act was designed to make insurance cheaper, but that’s only if you qualify for subsidies. Families making less than $45,000 for an individual or $92,000 as a family will qualify for some type of government discount, but families who make more than this could wind up paying more for their coverage. Unfortunately, there is so much that depends on what the published insurance rates are adjusted during the summer of 2013.

Age, Location and Smoking Habits

Insurance rates used to be based on pre-existing conditions and other information, but that is also changing. While insurers can no longer use pre-existing conditions as an excuse to increase rates after 2014 health insurance reform, they can still take age into account. However, they can only charge the elderly up to three times the amount they are charging a young, healthy person. This is an improvement over the increase of 500 percent or more that the elderly currently pay compared to young consumers.

Grandfathered Plans

If you love your current health care coverage, then there is good news for you. Insurance companies have the option of grandfathering plans and maintaining plans that were created before March 23, 2010. While these plans will not be subject to all the rules of Obamacare 2014, they will still have to follow some of them. Whether the plans will still be available is a question that will only be answered with time.

2014 Health Insurance

The 2014 health insurance reform changes were implemented with the intention of lowering the cost of insurance and extending coverage to the millions of people who were uninsured. Employers with more than 50 people will now be required to provide insurance, and small businesses can pool their resources to purchase discounted plans through exchanges. These changes are designed to ensure that everyone can afford to have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

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