Health Care Reform: What it Means for You
Easy Tools to Determine How You Will Be Affected
Health Care Reform Reality
As Americans now know, President Barack Obama's sweeping health care reform bill passed successfully. Both before and after its passage, the bill had ardent supporters on either side of the fence. It has been discussed almost ad nauseam through all types of media, with "experts" pontificating about probable outcomes.
Tools Aid in Determining How YOU Will be Affectedby Health Care Reform
In the final analysis, the outcome that means the most to people is how this new law will affect them personally.
To that end, the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) has compiled tools from two highly respected resources, making them available to a wide range of people.
The first is a tool provided by the Washington Post. It entails going to the site and answering four simple questions (five questions if you currently have no health insurance): 1) Do you have health insurance? 2) How many people are in your household? 3) What is your adjusted gross household income? 4) What is your marital status? If you answer "no" to having health insurance, the additional question is: Are you under 26 years old.
As soon as you answer these questions, the tool tells you exactly what the new guidelines will be for obtaining and paying for health insurance. Nothing could be simpler.
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan foundation, has provided easy-to-read provision summaries of the health care reform bill at their website. On the same page, you will find a subsidy calculator. Here six questions are asked: Choose a proposal (house-passed bill, senate-passed bill or final legislation; choose whether you want the tool to express income in dollars or percentage of poverty level; enter annual income; enter age of policyholder; choose family type; and is employer coverage available?
Ahead of the Curve in Decision Making
Ultimately, the choice will be yours. You can choose to participate or not. Those who do not make choices, or those who refuse to participate by 2014, the year that health care coverage for every individual is mandated, will be subject to tax penalties. Initially the penalties will be low ($95/ uninsured dependent), but in 2016, those penalties will become more substantial.
You can be proactive by determining now what your options are going to be for health insurance and be one step ahead of the game.
Sources: National Family Caregivers Association
Washington Post
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Published by L.L. Woodard
Freelance writer/editor and freelance observer of life. Three decades of nursing experience in long-term care, from development of team care planning to hands-on patient care. View profile
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- Kaiser Family Foundation provides easy-to-read provision summaries.
- Kaiser Family Foundation provides subsidy calculator tool