You may have questions about how the new health care law, also known as the Affordable Care Act, is going to impact your life. AARP’s Health Law Guide will help you better understand exactly what you need to know.
If you are under 64 and have insurance, the law has new benefits and protections that help secure your family’s health and finances. If you are uninsured, there is a new way to get health coverage for you and your family. Depending on your income, financial help may also be available to cover some of the costs.
The law also strengthens Medicare by including more preventive benefits, lowering the price of prescription drugs in the Part D doughnut hole and fighting waste and fraud.
It’s important to know how the Affordable Care Act could help you or your family. Research suggests that 40% of us would prefer to hear about the Affordable Care Act from a loved one. Your knowledge matters to your family and friends. Visit AARP’s Health Law Guide to find out how it can help the ones you love.
• There’s a new way to shop for a health insurance. You can find a plan that works for you and your family with options to get financial help to cover some of the costs. Low-cost or free plans may also be available.
• The Health Insurance Marketplace makes it easier to shop for health plans in your state. All plans are listed in one place, so you can make apples-to-apples comparisons of benefits and prices. All plans are required to describe what’s included in simple language, so there’s no guesswork about what’s covered.
• All plans must cover the essentials. You shouldn’t have to worry if your insurance will pay for your care. All plans offered on the Marketplace are required to cover important benefits, like doctor visits, hospital care, emergency care, prescriptions and more.
• There’s financial help to pay for health insurance. For the first time, health coverage is finally within reach for millions of Americans. In fact, many people who buy their plan on the Marketplace can get help covering the costs. Low-cost or free plans are available depending on your income.
• Get help finding the plan that’s right for you and your family. Help is available every step of the way. You can get your questions answered about finding a plan or completing the application in person, by phone or online.
• Get more preventive care. Diabetes and cholesterol screenings, mammograms and immunizations are all completely covered. So you can catch the little things before they turn into bigger problems. Your coverage will also include services like flu shots, and smoking cessation and diet counseling to make staying healthy a lot easier.
• Your coverage is protected. Insurance companies can no longer deny you coverage, even if you have a pre-existing condition like asthma, diabetes, high-blood pressure or even cancer. And if you or a family member gets sick or injured, health insurance companies can’t cut off your coverage or cancel your plan.
• Your plan can’t put dollar limits on your care. In the past, health plans could place dollar limits on the care they would cover in a year or over your lifetime. Now, there will be no more dollar limits on your care, so if you get sick or injured, you’re protected from huge, unexpected medical bills.
• Young adults can stay on their parents’ family plan. If you have children, they can stay on your family health insurance plan until they turn 26. Even if you child is in school, living away from home or married, as long as they are under age 26, they can stay covered.
It’s time to learn more about the health care law.
Go to www.HealthLawAnswers.com for more information.
• More preventive care is covered. Medicare now covers yearly wellness visits and more preventive care. This includes cancer, cholesterol and diabetes screenings, immunizations, diet counseling and more.
• The health care law fights fraud, scams and waste that take money from the Medicare program. The law strengthens Medicare by adding more resources to catch those who fraudulently bill Medicare.
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