Under the Affordable Health Care Act, all United States citizens must have insurance coverage come January 1st, 2014. In situations where you do not currently have insurance, or unable to afford it, you are not required to start coverage prior to then — however, you must have selected and enrolled in a plan which includes all 10 of the Essential Health Benefits.
The 10 Essential Health Benefits include the following coverage
- Hospitalization
- Maternity and newborn care
- Pediatric services, including vision and dental
- Emergency services
- Prescription drugs
- Laboratory services
- Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
- Ambulatory patient services
- Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral treatment
- Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management
All new insurance plans created under the Affordable Health Care Act will automatically include all ten of these benefits. Further, there is going to be a tiered system with four different levels for you to choose from, including bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Each of the tiers covers all 10 benefits, but covers varying percentages. For example, a bronze-level plan has the lowest premium, but only covers 60 percent of related expenses. On the other hand, a platinum-level plan covers 90 percent of related expenses, but has the highest premium.
To help offset the costs of the new insurance plans, the federal government is offering subsidies and tax breaks for families, individuals and small businesses meeting certain requirements. For instance, individuals earning between 138 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level may qualify for a subsidy to pay for their coverage. This subsidy is in the form of tax credits which are paid directly to the plan carrier and which provide you with immediate savings.