7 Key Provisions of the Affordable Care Act in Kentucky

Whether you already have insurance, or have been looking for Kentucky individual health insurance you will benefit greatly from knowing what is changing within the health insurance world. Most of these changes will be in effect before or during the year 2014. The changes will be coming as a result of the Affordable Care Act being passed and it will be important for you to understand the following: 1. If you are the owner of a small business (with less than 50 full time employees) you may be able to receive “a special tax incentive” when you offer health insurance. Although you may not have had to offer group health insurance in the past you may choose to because the “tax credits will be expanded”.  Employees in this case will still be able to choose between their company’s group insurance and getting their own Kentucky individual health insurance. 2. Health Insurance policyholders have already been feeling the change since 2011. Insurance company’s now have to make sure that 80-85% of the premiums paid by consumers goes toward their members medical expenses. The remaining 15-20% can be used for the policyholders remaining expenses. If you are the policyholder of a plan that does not meet this criteria than you will receive a rebate. 3. You may remember before September 2010 when children could have their own Kentucky individual health insurance plan but they could be denied coverage based on a pre-existing condition. This led to many insurance companies stopping plans that were for children only, so they would not have so many policyholders with pre-existing conditions. Now that the Affordable Care Act has been approved no one will be denied based on pre-existing conditions. Because of this you may see child only plans coming back, since it will not make a difference any more if they have a pre-existing condition or not because providers will be forced to cover them. 4. Many young adults have been in favor of the section of the Affordable Care Act allowing them to stay as a dependent on their parents insurance until they are 26. They cannot be on it if they are offered insurance from their work, but they can remain on it even after they are done with school. Surprising as well, is that young adults under the age of 26 can be a dependent on their parent’s health insurance far after they are no longer a dependent on their parent’s tax return. 5. Whether you have Kentucky individual health insurance or group health insurance you can benefit from the Affordable Care Act. It has now been decided that people should be receiving better preventive care. If you have currently bought a plan or are going to in the near feature one of the new benefits are “preventative medical services and screenings”. 6. Before 2010 most health insurance plans had what was called a “lifetime coverage limit”. Usually you could receive coverage up to about “$1-$6 million” and then you would max out your plan and be unable to receive any continuous coverage through it. There is now no lifetime coverage limit thanks to the Affordable Care Act. This is great for the consumers but will effect the insurance companies. 7. If you have a pre-existing medical condition you can currently be part of a high-risk pool, which helps to cover some of your medical needs. Starting in 2014 this will no longer be necessary, because you will be able to be on a regular insurance plan and will not be able to be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. As you can see there are many changes taking place between now and 2014 and either you or someone you know are likely to be effected by them. Continue to educate yourself in the matters of health insurance so that you understand the insurance you will be leaving to your children. Contact a local broker to discuss getting Kentucky individual health insurance today!