Health Insurance on the Marketplace
You probably hear everyone talking about Obamacare — whether it’s on the news or in conversations with friends. Like most people, you probably have trouble following the politics. And like many other Americans, you also have trouble figuring out what Obamacare means for you and your family.
When it comes down to it, the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, has actually made joining health insurance more straightforward. Essentially, you can buy health insurance like you would buy an airline ticket — with the ability to search, compare and filter multiple options on an online portal. But, while this process was built to make buying health insurance more clear, it can be confusing to figure out all the new rules that come along with it.
Here in this Affordable Care Act summary, we’re going to lay out everything you need to know about Obamacare. By answering your burning questions, we hope to give you a better understanding of not only how Obamacare works, but also how it affects you.
Before we explain everything about Obamacare, it’s important to define what this law is. “Obamacare” is actually an unofficial nickname that’s used to refer to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This law is usually abbreviated as the “Affordable Care Act” or “ACA”.
The Affordable Care Act took effect starting in 2013. Since then, it has had a broad impact on health insurance plans across the United States. The ACA has affected everything from the type of coverage provided, to how and when plans are purchased, and even how much healthcare will cost.
Today, when people refer to their individual or family health insurance coverage (without getting it from an employer), they’re generally talking about an ACA plan. They could also be referring to an alternative plan, but we’ll get to those options later.
ACA was created with three main parts to reduce the costs of healthcare in America.
1. The ACA introduced easily understood features nationwide, like yearly enrollment periods. The ACA also set up a universal way to structure different plan levels — now, plans have titles like gold, silver and bronze.
This push to standardize healthcare also made it illegal for insurance companies to exclude someone with a pre-existing medical condition. This popular rule opened a path for everyone in the country to get health insurance.
2. The second part was that the ACA required everyone in the U.S. to have health insurance. This rule has since expired in most states. The reason this was originally put into law was to make sure that health insurance plans could afford to support more patients with pre-existing conditions.
So how does that requirement work? The idea was that if healthy people who didn’t need much care had to have health insurance, then their payments to the insurance companies could lower the costs for people with more health issues.
3. Finally, the Affordable Care Act provided discounts, called subsidies, to help all Americans afford the insurance they were now required to have.
Obamacare Changes After 2017
But, everything changed in 2017 when Congress repealed the rule that everyone in the country had to have health insurance. This made it harder for Obamacare to lower healthcare costs for Americans as a whole. It also led some people to drop out of ACA healthcare plans altogether.
Today, you can continue to shop for ACA health insurance. ACA plans are still effective, just not mandatory.
How To Buy Obamacare Coverage
You can buy your Obamacare health insurance directly through the healthcare marketplace each year during Open Enrollment Periods. There are also additional chances to join, called Special Enrollment Periods. No matter when you are eligible to buy Obamacare, you can get it directly via the ACA marketplace, web-enabled brokers, or through licensed agents like HealthCare.com.
(What sets HealthCare.com apart is that we can show you options both on and off the ACA marketplace. This includes low-cost plans for people who aren’t eligible for subsidies. Ultimately, this gives you more choice.)