Health Care Reform & You
Written by James Chan   
 
The passage of the health care reform bill means that the way health insurance companies operate will change. We are going to ignore the litany of taxes and spending cuts that will pay for the bill and focus on its effect on health insurance. Here are some of the short and long-term changes:
  • Young people will be able to stay on their parents’ family plan until they are 26. This means that recent college graduates do not have to have insurance costs thrown on them on top of all their other bills.
     
  • Children can no longer be denied insurance based on “pre-existing conditions.”
     
  • Annual and lifetime coverage limits will be banned.
     
  • By 2018, all new plans must have copayment-free preventive care plans.
     
  • By 2014, you will be required to purchase health insurance or face a fine.
     
  • By 2014, insurers can no longer deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
     
  • By 2014, state insurance exchanges will allow individuals to pool their money and pick from a set of standardized health care packages.
What to expect:
  • Health insurance costs will rise- being forced to cover all those people with pre-existing conditions will force insurance companies to raise premiums, copayments, and deductibles in order to stay profitable.
     
  • For those with pre-existing conditions, finding insurance will be much easier.
     
  • More per-service coverage limits due to the ban on annual and lifetime coverage limits.
     
  • If you don’t have health insurance now, find an insurer by 2014. There will be federal tax credits designed to subsidize your costs.
Last Updated on Sunday, 26 December 2010 20:23