How will Obamacare affect you?

On October 1, state health care insurance exchanges are scheduled to open, in the first major implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—also known as the ACA or Obamacare.

There’s a lot of conflicting information in the media about how the exchanges will impact consumer health insurance. The highly reputable CFP Board’s Consumer Advocate blog has published several helpful articles, discussing the known or expected impacts for three distinct groups: 

• Individuals Working at a Large Employer
• Individuals Who Work for Small Businesses or Are Self-Employed
• Individuals Who Are Uninsured

For Medicare recipients, the impact will be smaller. The law makes no changes to Medicare eligibility or enrollment, and reduces the “doughnut hole”—the gap in prescription drug coverage. By 2020, the gap is scheduled to be eliminated. The law also includes free preventative care, including some vaccines and screenings.
 
We will continue to monitor the changes in health insurance, and will pass along helpful resources to you as we have access to them.
 
From Bob Smrekar, AIF^®
Wealth Advocate