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If you’ve been watching the news, you may be even more confused as to what ObamaCare or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act does for you. ObamaCare legally obligates Americans to have health insurance, compels health insurance providers to offer certain services, and creates an online marketplace where people can compare and buy insurance plans.
Do you currently have health insurance? Are you planning to buy health insurance from a private insurance company? If the answer to both questions is “No,” then you need to go to Healthcare.gov and buy a health insurance plan. If you cannot afford one, you may be eligible for the new expanded Medicaid .
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You know that politicians everywhere are up in arms about ObamaCare, but is it helping you? Before your health insurance adjusts to meet the new standards, check the answers below to the pivotal question: Is ObamaCare good for Me?
The Answer Is ‘Yes’ If:
•You Are Part of a Low-Income Family
ObamaCare aims to make uninsured people insured. Part of this is finding insurance that fits into everyone’s budget. However, for those people living on very little income, the Affordable Care Act is trying to help with a large expansion of Medicaid, a government subsidized and public health insurance. To find out if you are eligible for the new expanded Medicaid, go here.
•You Have Any Pre-Existing Conditions
Did you know that insurance companies deny people health insurance all the time because they have had health trouble in the past? Under ObamaCare, it is now illegal for health insurance providers to deny people coverage because of pre-existing conditions. In 2009, insurance providers were even turning some people down because acne and being pregnant were considered pre-existing conditions.
•You Want Specific Women’s Health Coverage
Under ObamaCare, specific women’s health issues and procedures will come standard to plan holders. HPV DNA tests, STI counseling, Breastfeeding support and supplies, and contraception counseling and support is all mandated under the Affordable Care Act.
•You Have Children 18-26 That Can’t Afford Their Own Health Insurance
Are you a young person living out on your own for the first time? Are you stuck in an unpaid internship that doesn’t offer you health benefits? No problem. Under ObamaCare, young adults can now stay on their parents health insurance plans until they are 26.
The Answer Is ‘No’ If:
•You Want to Remain Uninsured & Pay the Fine
After March 31, 2014, U.S. citizens who do not have health insurance will be fined $95 or 1 percent of their salary. If for some reason you do not wish to be insured, you can pay the fine and forgo your legal obligation to buy health insurance.
•You Really Like the Insurance Plan You Have
If you are part of the 85 percent of Americans who has health insurance, and you are happy with your plan, then you can stick with it. However, because of the new legally mandated benefits insurance plans are obligated to provide, some people insurance companies are raising prices or canceling certain plans altogether.