Health care law gets underway for individuals

October 30, 2013 Written by

Although the employer mandate for providing health insurance coverage to workers under the “Affordable Care Act” (ACA) was postponed for one year – until January 1, 2015 – the rules for individuals remain in place, at least for the foreseeable future. What are your main rights and responsibilities under the ACA? Here’s a brief summary.

Essentially, unless you are already covered by an employer’s plan, Medicare, or Medicaid, you’re required to obtain coverage on your own or pay a penalty. The plan is to have affordable options available through state-operated exchanges. Some low-to-moderate income families may be eligible for various subsidies.

* Insurance exchanges. The health care exchanges in 14 states, as well as the federal government’s default exchange, opened for business on October 1, 2013. Coverage will be available as of January 1, 2014, for an open enrollment period ending on March 31, 2014.

The plans offered under the health care law are divided into four categories with metallic names: platinum, gold, silver, and bronze. Premiums range from the highest for a platinum plan to the lowest for bronze. With a platinum plan, out-of-pocket costs such as co-payments are lower, while these costs are higher for bronze plans.

Do you need more information? Visit the one-stop site for applications at healthcare.gov or call 800-318-2596 or call the office.

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Written by: Doug Rodrigues