Act Now! Open Enrollment for Affordable Healthcare
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: August 19, 2021
Affordable healthcare is something that all Americans deserve. Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), millions of people and their families were at risk of financial ruin because they were uninsured. Health insurance companies could also deny health insurance coverage due to a preexisting condition like cancer or diabetes. Fortunately, you are now protected with the ACA.
Open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act begins November 1 and lasts until January 31, 2017. If you want your coverage to begin on the first of the year, you will have to enroll by December 15. Now is the time to compare healthcare plans so that you can find the best one for you. You and your clients can learn more about the Health Insurance Marketplace and how to apply for benefits at www.healthcare.gov.
Signed into law on March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act provides Americans with better health security by expanding coverage, lowering healthcare costs, guaranteeing more choice, and enhancing the quality of care for all Americans. As of March 2016, 20 million people have gained health insurance coverage –more than 6 million of them uninsured young adults– because of the Affordable Care Act. We now have the lowest uninsured rate in the country’s history.
No matter who you are, you are entitled to affordable healthcare. It’s a crucial part of securing today and tomorrow. The Affordable Care Act also ensures that even if you have a preexisting condition you will be covered.
If you are already covered and want to change your plan, this is the time to do it. Factors might have changed over the last year that would make you want to update your coverage. Even if you’re just curious about the many plans in the open marketplace, you can compare healthcare plans at www.healthcare.gov.
Having coverage for you and your loved ones is a critical part of a healthy and happy life. Make sure you’re covered with the plan that best suits you.
Did you find this Information helpful?
Tags: Affordable Care Act
See CommentsAbout the Author
Jim Borland, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications
Jim Borland, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications
Comments
Comments are closed.
Priscilla
I would like to interject and ask, how many Americans are paying for Life Insurance knowing full well that death is a certainty? Yet, those that do pay, are not complaining of the high cost to insure over the years to only get what you opted for in the end. I don’t hear complaints about the high cost of death insurance. On the other hand, the Affordable Care Act protects those Americans who cannot afford to pay premiums for their health and it works. They are satisfied. However, those Americans who can well afford their health insurance should stay out of the fray! Remember, it was not an Executive Order. All laws are an act of Congress and approved or not approved by the President. Those Americans who disagree should not send congressional representatives to Washington if they are not sure of their representation. BTW, it’s President Obama and those who think differently should stop the underlying insults! It’s un-American!
Kory
Hey There. I disvrceoed your blog the use of msn. That is a really neatly written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your helpful info. Thanks for the post. I will definitely return.
Yolanda G.
Bye Bye ACA
John B.
I received my bill for the monthly payment for 2017 and it’s for $139, so I’ll be paying $8.00 less than in 2016. This is for my wife and two sons, and they never use the insurance in the last two years, but I still have them covered just in case. You can find a good deal, if you do some research.
John B.
Oops! I’ll be paying $1.57 less and not $8.00 less.
Robert F.
When will Obama care be finished
Cathy
Whether there is Health Care Reform or not, I have not seen a year where health insurance did not go up in costs no matter which program was in place. However, ACA was one attempt of a check and balance in which it does not allow the insurance co. to have total free rein and control of who is covered and what they will deny . Something needs to be in place that guarantee fair practices and that people do not get denied coverage because of ‘pre-existing conditions’ and other provisions that was under this act. People need to be informed of all of the ramifications if this act is overturned.
ata
Much of what you say is true. The coverage of preexisting conditions was a small part of the ACA. Some food for thought. If I know that within a year I will die I should be allowed to load up on life insurance, after all that’s my right! No?? Hmm, “going to die”, why that’s a preexisting condition, so insure the heII out of me and force everyone else to pay for my misfortune.
Marc
Right, good luck with that.All the information anyone could want or need about the ACA or “Obamacare” is and has been available ar pur fingertips since before the Act was even passed. Nearly everyone has online access, so they could easily have learned the truth about every facet of the law in easy to understand websites our government provided us. But they didn’t bother; they chose instead to listen to the ridiculous and false claims the Republicans who opposed the bill made. Even as the stories got more and more wild and outlandish, people never questioned them. I mean come on, “death panels” – REALLY??? Is anyone seriously that stupid that they’d believe thegovernment would pass a law that openly mandated KILLING people???? In writing? A lot of people, and in fact these idiots STILL believe this and all the other ludicrous, fantastic myths these nasty, immature Congress persons created to scare gullible people into having a negative impression of “Obamacare.”
This is the same tactic they’ve used for years to divide us; from the lies Reagan started about “welfare queens” driving a Cadillac to pick up a welfare check (FALSE) to the phony “statistics” and blatant lies about everything Donald Trump so brazenly spewed off the top of his head during the election. There is not one thing, not one single claim Trump made that was based in fact, and every single false statement he made is easily verified as false. yet anyone who demonstrated this, even by publishing the actual true facts from the original, official source was shouted down, insulted, called a “libtard,” and ignored. As a result, the fate of every man, woman, and child on this planet is now in the hands of a sociopathic snake-oil salesman; an insecure, spoiled rich brat with delusions of grandeur, a con artist who is, quite simply, not in touch with reality.
“Inform” the public? You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink, you can give the people every single scrap of information they need to make an informed decision about any subject but you can’t, unfortunately, make them actually look at that information. The collective laziness of half the people in this country has doomed everyone else. The sad thing is, those with the knowledge know exactly what’s in store for us all. And that’s terrifying.
Bobbie
Til hamingju með þessa ótrúlega sætu stelpu. Held að Jói Fel megi fara að passa sig þegar kemur að af°g¶liskækuÃerÃm.
Major J.
As stated, before the ACA millions of Americans faced ruin because they could not get health care. Now they have health care and tens of millions of people face ruin because they can’t afford the premiums and even at that the policies are not much better than Catastrophic Coverage plans. The co pays and the deductibles make them almost useless.
Sheree
well you no longer will have to worry about that now!
dave h.
“Affordable healthcare is something that all Americans deserve.” Deserve??? With that thinking then all Americans “deserve” food, housing, transportation, cell phones and cloths. People, the government is not the solution to our problem . . . the government is part of the problem. Cheers
ata
You forgot flat screen TV’s that’s a right because we gotta have it.
Bill
The ACA improved some things (it eliminated preexisting conditions exclusions) but complicated others. It was a political compromise: in order to get it past Republican objections, the Democrats had to include the “mandate,” which was a giveaway to insurance companies.
If we had elected Bernie Sanders and a Democratic House and Senate, then we could have fixed the whole mess with Single Payer Universal Healthcare. But ‘the people’ (or more precisely, the Electoral College) have ‘spoken.’ Good luck if you’re poor or sick or elderly.
Sheree
thank you for your intelligent comment
Marc P.
So your position is that human beings do deserve food, shelter, and safety? Exactly WHAT doyou think is the purpose of government anyway??? It was so that society collectively as a group could provide the basic necessities for EVERYONE, like oh, gee.say, the sewer system, power, heat, protection, safety . . . or do you think the 7 billion people on this planet should all do exactly what they want, take whatever they want; kill, steal, fend for themselves? Oh yeah, we’re so “supetior” to the animals. THEY take care of their members, from ants to wolves to dolphins. WE are the only ones who hate and kill and envy each other. Disgusting.
Marc P.
So your position is that human beings don’t deserve food, shelter, and safety? Exactly WHAT doyou think is the purpose of government anyway??? It was so that society collectively as a group could provide the basic necessities for EVERYONE, like oh, gee.say, the sewer system, power, heat, protection, safety . . . or do you think the 7 billion people on this planet should all do exactly what they want, take whatever they want; kill, steal, fend for themselves? Oh yeah, we’re so “supetior” to the animals. THEY take care of their members, from ants to wolves to dolphins. WE are the only ones who hate and kill and envy each other. Disgusting.
Genelle
Affordable Healthcare? Where?!!! Affordable to whom?
Under the ACA my deductible has DOUBLED, my premium has TRIPLED.
There is no incentive to join, other than avoiding an unfair tax penalty for opting out of something my family cannot afford (and doesn’t want or use). Where is the sense in that? I am surprised that someone hasn’t gone to Prison for this HealthCare ‘reform’ SCAM.
JT T.
How do I find out if my exisiting insurance is through obamacare or the ACA and, because it deals with Medicaid and Medicare which may be repealed, is this insurance (Commonwealth Care Alliance One Care) to be done away with?
Linda
If you will receive tax form 1095-A by the end of January, you have had insurance through ACA(Obamacare), if you’ll get 1095-B or 1095-C you have had insurance through private, government (Medicaid/Medicare/ or VA) or employer companies.
Major J.
Obamacare and the ACA are different terms for the same thing. Medicare and Medicaid are not being repealed and are separate entities. Check with Alliance to see if they offer coverage for next year.
Phyllis B.
For as I know/Medicare and Medicaid will not delete. Medicaid is coverage under the OBAMA ACA that assist the individuals with services based on need following low co-pay.That’s the advantage of the OBAMA..when you be approved my the app’s from the agency department ..the individual services take effect after the day of statue of limitation date.It was good plan for needy people.Medicare will remain entact because of what reason____What are we as individuals?
R.F.
Please contact your health plan representative directly. For more information on how other health insurance plans work with Medicare, call the Medicare toll-free number, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
bettyg
ray,
my niece is 28, had a heart attack in march; was pg with last child so they couldn’t do much for treatments.
husband, 34, was diagnosed with JAW CANCER lymphoma in early july where it’s eaten most of his jaw bone; NOPE, not a smoker or chewer!!
baby born late in july. 3 kids, ages 7, 16 months, and baby now 4 months.
they had their health insurance agent & me there for 2-3 hrs. this week.
agent typed in their health situations, ALL the various drs. each of them sees for a policy for 2 of them.
kids are covered by HAWK-I program.
agent brought up 4-6 programs.
either they had dr. coverage & NO MED COVERAGE…100% out of pocket expenses or VICE VERSA.
deductibles were 2-3 times higher; ACA went up 300% for them from what they were paying.
due to their health conditions, she had to quit work due to heart attack and pregnancy.
child care costs MORE than what she can make working.
husband was “leg go” from his job 2 wks. prior to cancer diagnosis since he was taking time off going to drs. appts. trying to find out why his face was so swollen.
down to 1 job night delivering newspapers.
got signed up for MEDICAID just recently!!
what are THEY to do plus feed a family of 5 on very low income he makes now??
NEED HELP IN IOWA!!
R.F.
We are sorry to hear about the difficulties and medical problems your niece and husband are experiencing. We pay disability benefits to people who are unable to work because of a medical condition that is expected to last one year or more or to end in death. However, if a person thinks that he or she meets our definition of disability, we encourage them to apply for disability benefits when they become disabled. We pay disability benefits through two programs: the Social Security disability insurance program (SSDI) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program is a needs-based program that pays benefits to disabled adults and children who have limited income and resources. A person may still be eligible for disability benefits under the SSDI program if they work. However, their earnings cannot exceed a certain amount. This is called the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) limit. In 2016, the SGA limit is $1,130 per month (or $1,820 for blind applicants). In addition to the amount of money you make, Social Security may also look at the number of hours you’re able to work. For more information visit our “Frequently Asked Questions” web page on disability. We hope this information helps.
bettyg
thanks ray 😉
Sheree
hi Ray…. I have been disabled since 2008, but was unable to work from 2012 until now. My disabilites have lasted almost 5-years, and will die from my severe disabilities in the next few years. I worked for more than 35 years of my life and paid into FICA and Medicare. My question to you is….why are there so many people in this country unable to receive their benefits when they become disabled….also, why are employees allow to tell a clients that they are going to make sure they do not receive their benefits. And, why is that money (plus interest) not returned to those individuals that doesn’t ever receive their benefits?
Phyllis B.
SGA-work related activity ..Since there are so many complications medically.My condoloscence goes beyond,however,Sub sunstantial gross adjustment for married people based on living adjustments id around 2500 to 3,000 and for single individuals is around 1500 no less than 1200 with the poverty budget boundary of individual adjusted income of no more or less than 25,000-50,000} any leverage above is over means of property. Evaluation ios done through by financial assessment and household alliances or exemptions .The quarters for disability was 42 no less than 32 ..if I’m not mistaken social security supplement was based on average of work versus age in applying for which entitlement details the number of working quarters.
Daniel S.
Hi I’m on Commonwealth Care Alliance One Care also. Obamacare and the ACA are they same thing, Obamacare is just the nickname for it. Don’t worry about this plan. Medicare and Medicaid were around before the affordable care act (Obamacare/ACA). If Obamacare is repealled it would effect the people who aren’t disabled who are able to be on Medicaid just from low income. Medicare they can’t take away unless you stop being disabled and lose SSDI. Medicaid you won’t lose unless you suddenly start making a lot more money. Don’t worry about it. As long as your circumstances stay the same you wlll still be able to keep this plan.
Imogene
Thanks Daniel for the information. It become confuse for people who don’t understand all rules and guidelines for health insurances.
Marc P.
No, Trump said he plans to do away with Medicare and Medicaid too. His plan is to end them as federal programs and instead give “vouchers” to current Medicare recipients to purchase health insurance on the open market. Yeah, like that’s going to work for seniors and the disabled on our fixed incomes that continue to shrink every year. Oh but don’t worry- he’s going to privatize Social Security too, after he cuts it off for all those people collecting disability who are just “faking it” because we’re “too lazy” to work.
Marc P.
“Obamacare” IS the ACA. They are one and the same. “Obamscare” was originally the insulting name given the Act by opposing Republican Congresspersons to snub Predident Obama. Unlike them, he had the grace to embrace the name and didn’t get his nose out of joint over something so petty.
In any event, the Affordable Care Act is the actual name of the law that was passed in 2010 in order to orotect consumers from the rampant abuses and waste of health insureranchstone hat has gone on for decades. It sets standards for the basic minimum coverages all policies should provide, caps increases in costs, mandates that a minimum amount of collected monies actually go to provifing health care instead of the 40+% that previously was going to “administration,” and many, many other CONSUMER PROTECTIONS that were long overdue and desperately needed in the health insurance industry. Had the original drafts of the Act not been eviscerated by the Republican members of Congress that opposed it, such as the public option, and the mandates that all states participate in the Medicaid expansion, premiums would have been much, much lower than they ended up. Still, it’s a start, nearly everyone in the country has some form of coverage, and it sets limitations and some oversight of the most blatant and outrageous actions the insurers have been getting away with for decades. The Act has already saved both consumers AND the government millions of dollars since its implementation.
The Healthcare dot gov website that you use to purchase a policy through the Marketplace was designed to give consumers INFORMATION so they could know exactly what they are getting when choosing a health insurance plan. You can search for whatever is most important to you and it will filter the plans that match your specific criteria. Then you can put 3 plans at a time side by side and compare every single item in each one so you can make a truly INFORMED choice based on more than just picking the one with the lowest premium then griping later how terrible Obamacare is because it “doesn’t cover anything.”
For instance, you can see how much the co-pays are for primary care and specialists, lab work, x-rays and imaging, emergency care, physical therapy – literally everything you want and need to know in order to choose the best plan for you. And this way you would get the best value; the best coverage for you at the price you’re comfortable paying. Instead though, people prefer to complain when they’ve never even seen this information or made an effort to take a little responsibility for themselves. They merely look down the first list they see , choose the lowest premium, don’t bother to see what the plan coverstory or any other details, then blame Obama when they don’t get what they wanted. Or they complain it’s too complicated, though there is help available 24/7 online, and live trained people available to walk you through each and every step for FREE. There is simply no excuse for anyone to say they can’t find an affordable plan through the marketplace if they’re eligible, and anyone not covered by an employer’s plan (which are becoming more and more scarce and expensive and have been since long before Obamacare came into being), they’re eligible to shop through the marketplace.
Unfortunately, it seems Americans are getting lazier even as we get more and better and faster technology to access the ever-increasing amount of information available to us about everything. Anything you need or want to know is so easy to find but no, people would rather listen to a 30-second soundbyte or a news anchor’s personal opinion about a subject than to spend even five minutes checking for him or herself whether such a thing is true, or even possible. And they have no interest in new information unless it’s some form of mindless entertainment, becoming suspicious and fearful of new things, even. They complain bitterly if an app on their cellphone takes longer than 30 seconds to load, but they’ll spend hours staring at mindless reality TV while horking down junk food and beer. Nobody wants to actually make any effort but boy, they sure have some choice insults about how lazy unemployed people, disabled people, and people on “welfare,” are. Go figure.
Civilization is going backwards at breakneck speed, sorry to say. Humans have accomplished so much, created so many things, and yet most people now are far more ignorant than people were even 50 years ago. Education and the pursuit of knowledge is scorned and devalued, scientific advances are denounced as “hoaxes” by people who are close-minded and fearful of change, educated people are insulted and vilified while hateful, ignorant, bigoted, close-minded people shout out everyone who speaks for truth, beauty, justice, love . . . all the things that supposedly make us different from the rest of the animals.
These people are so fearful of change that they listen to the lies and rhetoric of those who put their own self-interest ahead of everyone else – ironically, the very ones we have entrusted with ensuring society’s well-being. As they become more and more closed-minded, their world becomes smaller and smaller and mankind goes backwards. Yes, we have advanced technology but how many of you know how to use your laptop or cellphone to their full capability? And these are the same people deciding who will hold the fate of every man, woman, and child on this planet in his or her greedy grasp.
It’s because so many people never bothered to even ask what the ACA was about, much less took the time to peruse the outstanding and user-friendly websites (plural) available since the Act was being drafted, which explained the entire process step by step, that you and everyone else dont even know what the ACA is. Yet they don’t hesitate to condemn it, knowing absolutely nothing about it, screaming about how horrible “Obamacare” is based on the endless false and frankly ludicrous claims that its opponents have been throwing about for years, and rejoicing that Trump is terminating it, leaving over 22 million people uninsured and uninsurable, and virtually guaranteeing the insurance companies and employers will return to and even increase their nefarious practices, raising costs and gutting benefits.
All these ridiculous “socialized medicine” claims, complaints about “government-run health care,” (it is NOT), “death panels” (another completely fabricated and imaginary fairytale that bears no relation to any provision of the bill at all but rather was invented to scare people into having a negative opinion of the Act) were simply invented out of the imaginations of the political opponents of President Obama, merely because they opposed HIM. How childish. And these are the men and women people keep voting in to “lead” us??? Pathetic. And tragic. For all of us.
K T.
With the new administration vowing to eviscerate the ACA, what incentive is there to join?
C W.
Seeing as my premiums went up three fold, I hope none!!!
Major J.
Nothing will change during 2017. The time is needed to transition over to whatever is proposed in 2018.
Phyllis B.
higher premiums for better health care and preventive services and maybe additional drug coverage.Since Marjuana{cannbis} have become legal _What are the options for Medicaid /Medicare recipents {1} receiving the card{2} do ACA support payment or is the payment cash to the provider. Please call to University of Calfornia relating to history of the plant and cannabis.com for the medical related information. The incentive to join could also be a matter of what help care program the individual choose and qualifying services offered by the provider or assignor