What is a Health Savings Account? A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged medical savings account you can contribute to and draw money from for certain medical expenses tax-free. HSAs can be used for out-of-pocket medical, dental, and vision. HSAs can’t be used to pay health insurance premiums. HSA’s can only be used with… Read More
If you are under 30 or obtained a “hardship exemption” you qualify for a high deductible, low premium, catastrophic plan. Catastrophic health plans are the cheapest plan you can get that counts as minimum essential coverage. Catastrophic plans can be good for those who want cheap, barebones care. Catastrophic plans tend to trade a low… Read More
Learn how to compare health plans to get the best deals on health insurance and health care. Compare your health needs with your plans costs and coverage, to find an affordable plan with benefits that are designed to cover you. No matter how you shop, and boy are there a lot of different options under… Read More
How does health insurance work? You pay a monthly premium and your share of annual out-of-pocket costs, and your insurer pays it’s share of covered costs. The concept is simple, but getting that perfect health plan takes some brain power and elbow grease. By taking the time to master and internalize the content of this page,… Read More
What is Actuarial Value? Actuarial value is average total of costs for covered benefits covered by a health plan. Let’s look at how ObamaCare’s metal plan actuarial values work and how actuarial value applies to all plans in general. FACT: Actuarial Value (AV) in regards to health insurance was created by the Affordable Care Act to rank ObamaCare’s… Read More
What is Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Medicare Part D, or Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage, covers the gap between your prescription drug needs and Original Medicare. Original Medicare (Parts A and B) includes basic drug coverage. However, many Medicare beneficiaries have prescription drug needs outside of what parts A and B covers. Medicare Part D is… Read More
What is Medicare Advantage? Medicare Advantage, or Medicare Part C, is a health plan that offers Medicare Part A, B, and typically D benefits through a private company. Medicare Advantage offers everything Original Medicare Part A and Part B offers but with better benefits and coverage options. Typically however this comes at a higher upfront… Read More
Guide to Buying Health Insurance: How Health Insurance Works Our guide to buying health insurance walks you through how health insurance works and how to buy health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare). Below we take a look at how ObamaCare affects buying health care plans, different ways to buy health insurance under… Read More
The Types of Health Insurance Plans Sold On and Off of ObamaCare’s Marketplace There are four types of health insurance plans available through ObamaCare’s Marketplace. They are Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum health insurance plans. These Qualified Health Plans represent four tiers of coverage and are sometimes referred to as “metal plans” due to their… Read More
Everything You Need to Know About Health Insurance for 2015 and Beyond We take an in-depth look at health insurance in the US, including how it works, what key health insurance terms mean, and how ObamaCare changes things. We touch on every detail you need to know to understand the complex gateway to health care in… Read More
What is Single Payer Health Care? Single payer health care is a health care system where a “single” fund pays for health care costs (rather than private insurers). There are many different ways single payer can work, but the general idea is 1. to create a universal healthcare system (a system that covers everyone) where, 2…. Read More
No More Pre-existing Conditions Since 2014 ObamaCare eliminated pre-existing conditions starting in 2014. No more pre-existing conditions means you can’t be denied coverage, charged more, or denied treatment based on health status. Considering 1 in 2 Americans has a health condition that qualifies as a pre-existing condition, the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) doing away with pre-existing… Read More
How the Affordable Care Act Affects Young Adults ObamaCare (the Affordable Care Act) allows young adults to stay on their parents plan until 26 and offers young people cheaper health insurance due to cost-assistance through their State’s health insurance marketplace. Young people can stay on their parents plans until 26. In many cases young people with limited… Read More
How ObamaCare Taxes Affect You: New Taxes, Hikes, Breaks, Credits, and Other Changes Here’s a full list of ObamaCare Taxes. The 21 new ObamaCare tax hikes and breaks impact us all, but which ObamaCare taxes will you actually pay? Find out how the tax-related provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) will affect you, your… Read More
ObamaCare Subsidies – Premium and Out-of-Pocket Cost Assistance on Marketplace Plans Explained ObamaCare subsidies save you money on your premium and out-of-pocket expenses based on income. Subsidies are only available on plans sold on the Marketplace. Let’s take a look at what subsidies are, how they work, and how you can apply for free or… Read More
We Asked You How You’ve Been Affected By ObamaCare, Here is What You Said Below are Real ObamaCare Stories from our readers. We asked you to share your ObamaCare stories on how health care reform has affected you. Thank you for the overwhelming amount of responses. We have done our best to answer your questions… Read More
No Cost-Sharing on Essential Preventive Care Thanks to the Affordable Care Act ObamaCare includes preventive care at no out-of-pocket cost on most health plans. ObamaCare’s free preventive services help to put the focus on wellness, early detection, and prevention, instead of treatments and cures. FACT: At least 15 free preventive services and one wellness visit… Read More
How ObamaCare Affects Health Insurance Premium Rates Insurance premiums are a sore subject with many readers. However, insurance premium increases related to Obamacare are largely a response to the protections contained within the law, such as the mandate for insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions. Meanwhile, parts of the law like the rate review… Read More
ObamaCare Facts 2023 – We Tell you the Facts, Not The Talking Points We provide up-to-date facts on ObamaCare (the Affordable Care Act). Get the ObamaCare facts on enrollment, assistance, benefits, plan types, and more. What is ObamaCare? The official name for “ObamaCare” is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or Affordable Care Act (ACA) for short. The… Read More
What is Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC)? Minimum Essential Coverage is health insurance that meets the requirements of the ObamaCare (the Affordable Care Act). This generally means coverage offers 10 essential benefits and meets actuarial value standards. Most coverage offered in the employer, private, and public markets count as Minimum Essential Coverage. Meanwhile, short-term and limited… Read More
How ObamaCare Works For You, Your Family, and Your Business We cover everything you need to know about how ObamaCare works for you, your family, and your business. Below you’ll find overviews of what ObamaCare does, how to use the Health Insurance Marketplace for low-cost coverage, deadlines for getting coverage, and a breakdown of some key… Read More
What Are Essential Health Benefits? Ten Essential Health Benefits must be offered at no dollar limits on every health plan under the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). Essential Health Benefits consist of ten categories of items and services required for all individual and small group plans after 2014. Essential Health Benefits are the types of care… Read More
What Does ObamaCare Cost? Below we look at what ObamaCare costs individuals and families, what ObamaCare costs taxpayers, and what ObamaCare costs in terms of government spending. FACT: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) lowers costs based on income. Plans costs less than $100 a month for the majority of Americans who qualify for assistance each… Read More