Many people disagree about whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — most commonly known as ObamaCare — is good or bad for healthcare patients. However, there are some parts of ObamaCare, which are often forgotten, that help everyone.
What are they? Here are four of the most significant positive changes the Act is responsible for:
- Elimination of pre-existing conditions: Prior to ObamaCare, many people had no insurance coverage for something called “pre-existing conditions.” For example, if you had cancer or a complication from a surgery and then changed insurance companies, the new insurance company formerly would deny these type of claims saying they were “pre-existing conditions.” Because of this problem, many employees would not move to take a new job for fear they would not have insurance coverage for the things they needed. Under ObamaCare, this problem is eliminated. An insurance company can no longer use this as an excuse for no coverage.
- Insurance coverage for your children through age 26: Another big change is that young adults can now stay on their parent’s insurance until they reach the age of 26. The child does not to show they are in school nor living with their parents. Prior to ObamaCare, most insurance plans only allowed the child to have coverage until they reached the age of 18 or were in school.
- Elimination of Life-Time limits: Prior to ObamaCare, insurance companies had a “life-time limit” for each person who had insurance. If you had cancer or several different health problems, you could easily hit your life time limit and would find yourself with no insurance coverage. Under ObamaCare, life-time limits have been eliminated. Now if you have cancer that may reoccur over many years, you don’t have to worry about your cancer AND whether you will lose your insurance also.
- Preventive Care is now covered: Many people are surprised to discover that prior to ObamaCare most preventive medical care was not covered by your insurance. Historically, insurance covered you when you were sick, not when you were well. This is silly, as preventative care often prevents you from getting sick. Without coverage, many people would not go for their annual checkups or their yearly mammograms. Now, under ObamaCare, preventative services are covered. Every insurance plan must cover certain basic services so you no longer need to worry about getting a big bill from the doctor.
We can all continue to examine ObamaCare and determine whether it requires significant changes, but we can all agree that certain basic ObamaCare benefits are good for everyone.
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Are you looking to cut through all the noise and find out what ObamaCare really is, what it does, and, most importantly, what it means to you? MyHealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: ObamaCare” ebook guide leaves the politics behind and gives you a straightforward, timely rundown of the changes the law made and whether or not they impact YOU.
