Adelante staffers Alicia Gonzalez and Becky Howard attend a recent training on the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act and the Health Insurance Marketplace
You’ve probably noticed a recurring theme of information about the Affordable Care Act and the pending roll-out of the Health Insurance Marketplaces in our news.
You’ll see that focus continue — and pick up steam — in the coming weeks as we gear up for the October 1st launch of the Marketplace. With nearly 1 million Arizonan’s uninsured and eligible to participate, there are many in our community who will benefit from this new platform for making insurance affordable and easier to find.
Today we thought we’d mention the benefits of the Affordable Care Act to the approximately 70% of us who have insurance through our employers or another avenue. Many of those changes are helping our families right now and will continue to as more elements of the law are rolled out. Those benefits include:
New Coverage Options
- Young adults may now stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26.
- Pre-existing conditions can no longer be used to deny coverage
Better Value
- Insurance companies must now spend at least 80 cents of every dollar on health care and can only spend 20 cents on administrative costs.
- Insurance companies are required to publicly justify rate increases of 10% or more.
- Lifetime limits are no longer allowed so those with serious chronic illnesses no longer have to worry about exhausting their coverage
- Women and men will be charged the same premiums
- The rate difference between young and older adults may only be a factor of 3
Better Health
- Preventive services are now available without a copay or deductible
- The ACA provides more than $67 million to expand the community health center network Adelante is part of
Stronger Medicare
- The ACA provides help with the Medicare “donut hole” and saves seniors money on prescription drugs
- The ACA extends the life of the Medicare Trust fund by 10 years and provides tougher screening procedures, stronger penalties and new technology to fight fraud
As a community health center, Adelante Healthcare will be taking a leading role in helping our community understand this law and how it affects each of us. These are definitely interesting times!