HR3590 Health Care Bill & Government Health Insurance

There are quite a number of provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that will go into effect in January 2014. We have shared with you a few in a previous post, and we continue our discussion on the other provisions.

A new voluntary long-term care insurance program will be created under CLASS Act, where individuals who pay premiums voluntarily into the program and who, due to disability or chronic illnesses, become eligible, will be able to receive benefits that they can use to cover expenses for a home or assisted-living facility. Meanwhile, an employed individual who uses more than 9 and a half percent of his or her income to pay for health insurance premiums can buy insurance policies from a state-controlled health insurance option.

Starting January 2014, health insurance exchanges will be established, and insurance premiums for individuals whose income is up to 400% of the poverty line as well as single adults will be subsidized. Three years after, in January 2017, states can apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to waive certain sections of the law. This is allowed for as long as the state can show a detailed alternative coverage that are either at least as comprehensive or as affordable for a comparable number of the residents of the state.

By 2018, it is expected that all existing health insurance plans must include approved preventive care and checkups without the need to co-pay. This is also the year when the new 40% excise tax on Cadillac insurance plans will be introduced.