More people lose everything because of medical catastrophes; it’s even worse when we don’t have health insurance to absorb most of the costs. Insurance protects us against loss of property should we get into an accident. Insurance protects our family should we lose our lives. Insurance protects our cars, boats, toys, and homes. One type of insurance that we could die without, is health insurance. Medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy.
Lots of people who lose their jobs cannot afford health insurance premiums; so remain uninsured. Health insurance problems occur more during times of high joblessness, as most folks get health insurance through their employer’s group health insurance. If you were on your employer’s health insurance and are terminated, you may be eligible for COBRA insurance. COBRA is 18 months of extra time on your health insurance, but you pay a premium for it.
The uninsured problem was addressed and alleviated under the Affordable Health Care Act that went into effect in 2010. The principle of the Act was to provide affordable healthcare insurance to all Americans, regardless of being employed or not; having a pre-existing condition or not. In years past, insurance companies could drop you if you had a preexisting condition. Not so now. More regulations are in place to prevent insurance companies from canceling insurance when you get sick, or when you move from job-to-job. Discrimination because of a pre-existing condition is illegal. States have the right to implement such requirements now, but it will be fully implemented in 2014.
The entire Act will be implemented in 2014. The Affordable Healthcare Act protects people from extreme insurance premiums and regulates that 85% of all premium dollars collected by insurance companies for large groups must be spent on health care services and health quality improvement. The law states that an employer run insurance plan must provide 80% of the same.
The new regulations give tax credits to small businesses to help them provide health insurance to their employees. Up to 4 million small businesses will be eligible for credits up to 35% of the employer’s contribution to employee health insurance. Non-profits receive up to a 25% credit. The law helps employers and individuals.
The Affordable Healthcare Act cracks down on fraudulent insurance practices that cost taxpayers billions of dollars. New fraud practices have netted over 2.5 billion dollars already. New electronic systems and online insurance health forms have made it easier than ever for individuals to read about their insurance rights and options in one place at healthcare.gov.
This Act has helped millions of college-aged individuals remain in school and get degrees before looking for work and heading out on their own. The Affordable Healthcare Act lets parents to keep their kids on their health insurance until they are 26 years old, if they don’t have health care offered through work. Look for more updates as the timeline for full rollout begins to help more people every year.
You no longer have to spend hours finding info about long term care insurance quotes.

April 23rd, 2012
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