The Insurance Department has collected the following information and links to help inform consumers about their rights and responsibilities related to changes to the Federal health care laws as a result of the Affordable Care Act. VA is committed to making sure that veterans are aware of their options for meeting the Affordable Care Acts minimum essential standard for insurance, whether by enrolling in VA insurance or purchasing coverage offered on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Your family members who are not enrolled in a VA health program should use the Health Insurance Marketplace to obtain coverage. You may continue using VA for all of your medical needs, or supplement VA care with private health insurance or coverage through other federal health programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE. Because VA care meets health care coverage standards, you will not qualify for help with the cost of your health insurance premiums if you decide to buy additional health insurance outside VA.
If employer-based insurance is not affordable, or does not meet the health care reform laws minimum-value requirements, you may be eligible for financial help to buy through your states Health Insurance Marketplace. You may be able to buy health insurance through either the state or federal marketplaces, which provide you with the option to choose from plans.
Short-term health plans offer insurance coverage for physician visits, urgent care, emergency treatment, and preventive care, and they may offer some prescription drug coverage. You can find lower-cost coverage through Medicare, noncompliant Affordable Care Act plans, short-term health insurance, your local Health Sharing ministries or Farm Bureau Health Plans. Farm Bureau plans can be relatively inexpensive, and these lower-cost health plans are not subject to Affordable Care Act regulations, nor are they required to cover 10 essential health benefits. Discount plans might seem like cheap health plans, but they are not health insurance, nor do they satisfy Massachusettss individual mandate health coverage requirements.
Connecticut residents looking for individual and group health insurance, managed care, Medicare and Medicare Supplement plans, and medical discount plans may want to explore options. Ask what benefits a plan does and does not cover, which benefits are subject to limits; ask whether the plan covers your prescription drugs; ask where you can see a list of the medical providers in a plans network. When you have finally found a health plan that seems like it will cover your needs, check on the Insurance Divisions website or give them a phone call to see if the company is licensed to sell this kind of coverage in Massachusetts, before committing to buying a product. If it is, check the insurance marketplaces in Pennsylvania to shop and purchase health and dental coverage, as well as to apply for financial aid.
If you need assistance with prescriptions, dental, or other medical services, our consumer assistance program can steer you in the right direction. Navigators play a critical role helping consumers prepare applications to determine eligibility for, and enroll in, coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, and to potentially qualify for, insurance affordability programs. To the extent permitted by states, agents and brokers have a critical role in informing consumers of marketplaces and insurance affordability programs, as well as helping consumers obtain determinations of eligibility, apply for premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions, compare plans, and enroll in coverage. In particular, agents and brokers play a key role in helping eligible employers and employees enroll in coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP).
Because of those qualities, plans offerings, limits on coverage, exclusions, and costs differ greatly among insurers. With the Silver plan, you can qualify for additional savings called cost-sharing reductions, which may reduce copays, coinsurance, and deductibles. If you anticipate higher medical bills and can afford higher premiums, paying higher premiums on a Gold plan might be worth it so that most costs are covered by your insurer. Seniors may get the cheapest medical coverage through another government program called Medicare, which offers plans such as Medicare Advantage that cover most medical expenses.
You can deduct 100% of contributions to your health savings account plans from your taxable income. As a result of the ACA, insurance companies cannot deny you insurance coverage based on your health status, nor charge you more for your health coverage. With the Aetna CVS Health insurance plans from the ACA Marketplace, also known as the Exchange, your healthcare costs do not break the bank.
Insurance reforms that established consumer protections and nondiscrimination policies will continue, and they will be required in any proposal or choice considered for the purpose of providing healthcare coverage for all. Such an approach to universal health care coverage should include guarantees that all individuals would have access to affordable healthcare coverage. The intention of this policy paper is to provide the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and its Board of Directors with necessary advocacy flexibility to consider all options that may arise before the Federal and State governments, as well as the American people, as they strive to accomplish the goal of universal health coverage–a goal that is grounded in AAFP policies recognizing that health is a fundamental human right for each person, and that a right to health includes universal access to timely, acceptable, and affordable, appropriate-quality health care.
Find answers to common questions about the ACA, filing paperwork, getting and changing insurance, total medical costs, tax options, and more. If you have questions about how the health care reform law will impact you and your coverage options, please visit Healthcare.gov, or contact their help center at 1-800-318-2596 if you have questions that cannot be answered on their website. For costs and full details of your coverage, contact your health plan or broker.
These plans are not insurance, and are not regulated by the State Insurance Department. Regardless of where you fall on these measures, the best way to find affordable health insurance is to shop around between several different providers and compare plans by the features they offer, monthly premiums, out-of-pocket costs per year, and other details.