The Affordable Care act or more aptly known as Obamacare was designed as a way of reforming the healthcare system in The United States Of America. Up until the implementation of the affordable care act, there were an estimated 44 million Americans who were unable to receive proper access to healthcare facilities and diagnostics simply because medical insurance was out of their reach. There were quite a few reasons for this. Some households could not afford the ever increasing costs of medical insurance, while others were snubbed or made access increasingly difficult by pre existing conditions which insurance companies refused to cover. Before implementation of the affordable care act, many individuals were at the mercy of the insurance companies which could easily deny patients, drop coverage during times of medical treatment, and were free to charge the highest possible premiums at their own whims.

Why is Healthcare important

We are all susceptible to one form of illness or the other at some point in our lives. What we cannot do is predict when we will get sick or how much it will cost. Like most other types of insurance such as auto insurance, fire and hurricane insurance, you pay for something you hope you don’t need. The one thing that is certain about life and health is the unpredictability of it. Health insurance is there for the unexpected, un-controllable and unexpected situations in our lives. By paying a monthly or annual premium the majority of costs are diverted because your premium is added to a pool of others, hence bringing down the initial costs of medical procedures if need be. Without health care to offset this cost, many people simply would not be able to afford the cost of medical care in case of unforeseen emergencies and medical conditions.

The Affordable Care Act

In 2010, the Health Care Reform Act was enacted as part of the Patient Protection an Affordable Care Act. The initial goal of this piece of legislation was to like the rest of the developed countries of the world, was to provide full medical coverage for Americans as well as lower health care costs in the process. With many revisions and provisions, it essentially allows citizens, families and businesses to obtain health insurance.  There are many benefits associated with this act, and since 2014 quite a few provisions have been amended. The main objectives and benefits of these provisions are:

• By helping create State-based health insurance Exchanges, purchasing power increases, while administrative costs decreases. With increased competition among providers premiums would lower as well.

• Coverage is subsidized through these health insurance exchanges to allow people who previously could not afford coverage to now purchase comprehensive health insurance.

• By expanding the coverage age to less than 26 years old, parents are now able to insure sons and daughters under their employer sponsored insurance policies. Hence more young people are able to receive coverage than ever before.

• Medicaid coverage has now been expanded to more low income families.

• A reduction in the gap in coverage for prescription drugs, for those individuals receiving Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit.

• Reform of the pharmaceutical industry in an effort to prevent monopolies and promote consumer protection.

• The act ensures access to health insurance and offers protections against high out of pocket costs. This is achieved by prohibiting insurance companies from placing lifetime term limits on care. Also insurers are prohibited from denying coverage based on pre existing medical conditions, health status or gender.

• Insurance companies are prohibited from discarding policies based on changes in medical condition.

• For Americans who are uninsured, have a pre existing medical condition, or have been without medical coverage for at least 6 months, the Pre Existing Condition Insurance Plan Program was established. This acted as a temporary measure to protect those uninsured until they could then be covered by 2014.

• Put in place requirements that insurance companies spend the majority of health insurance premiums on actual medical care, not to accrue profits.

Student Plans under Obamacare

For students either over the age of 26 or not under their parents  medical care policy, many schools, colleges and universities offer health plans which can be an easier, cost effective alternative option to get basic health care coverage.  In most instances, those enrolled in student health plans count as qualifying health coverage underlined by the Affordable Care Act, meaning that they will not have to pay the penalties associated with not having medical insurance. For those students with a student plan, they can still apply for medical coverage via the Health Insurance Marketplace instead. Students can qualify for different plans at cheaper costs based on income, as well as low to free cost care through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The only drawback is that should someone claim that student as a dependent, they will not qualify for income based savings.  For students still unable to obtain medical insurance through these avenues, under the health care law a penalty fee must be paid on their next federal tax return. For students searching for more information about the many different types of exemptions and plans available, visit dylansporn.com/obama-care-for-students.

Dylan Sporn and the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Health Care Act though is a large step in the right direction and is not without room for improvement. Firstly, the biggest hindrance comes in the American public fully knowing all the relevant information concerning the many revisions and provisions of this new law. Some people may be paying a higher premium than what is necessary for the exact same coverage as someone who pays allot less or in some cases if any. Dylan Sporn is an organization made up of different medical industry agents and professionals who work to educate the public on the many positive aspects of Obamacare, while constantly looking for new ways to bring forth improvements on the existing laws. The main focus is to expand the current scope of people who are insured within the United States. Making sure that everyone in one way or the other is able to benefit from one of the biggest improvements in the quality of life of our citizens. We have a user friendly and informative website at Dylansporn.com which will send you on the way to finding out all the information needed to make the most informative decisions concerning your health care.