Here you can find out more information about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), how it will impact you, and where you can find more information about implementation in your state. One of the key provisions in the ACA is the requirement that states must set up insurance exchanges and that those exchanges must have a basic Essential Health Benefit (EHB). The Amputee Coalition is working with advocates to ensure that prosthetic devices and custom orthotic devices are included in every state’s EHB which would go toward achieving insurance fairness for amputees by ensuring adequate and affordable prosthetic care.
National Health Council Tool for Patients: Exchange Enrollment Assistance
If you have been trying to find out about the health insurance policies sold through the new state exchange, there are programs available to help you. While some marketplace websites are having technical issues enrolling people online, you can also apply by phone or through one of the three in-person programs.
The three in-person programs include: Navigators, In-Person Assisters, and Certified Application Counselors. The National Health Council has created an information tool – Enrollment Assistance Programs for the Health Insurance Exchanges – to help you identify the right personal assistance program for you.
These three types of assistance programs work to provide insurance and eligibility information to patients in a fair, accurate, and impartial manner. You can use these unbiased assistance programs to answer your questions or concerns when shopping in the marketplace. To find a list of assistance programs in your area, visit LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov.
Remember also that the federal government’s live chat feature is up and running. This resource can help people who are unable to reach an in-person assister and cannot find answers through the exchange websites. You can contact ACA staff members with specific questions by going to HealthCare.gov/contact-us/.
The National Health Council wants to ensure that patients are informed consumers when buying plans on the exchange, and that they have the necessary help to pick a plan that is appropriate for your healthcare needs. Click here for the National Health Council’s “Application Checklist for the Health Insurance Marketplace.”
Please use these tools to learn more about the enrollment assistance options and reach out to programs in your area while shopping for plans on the health insurance exchanges.
Amputee Coalition staff members are not Navigators for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and cannot provide information or advice about specific health insurance plans.
What is in the Affordable Care Act?
- Young adults can stay on their parent’s health insurance until 26 years of age
- Pre-existing illnesses and conditions cannot be denied health insurance benefits
- There is no ceiling on the cost of healthcare for a specific medical condition
- Significant Medicaid expansion is called for but states do have the right to opt out without losing current benefits covered by the Federal Government
- Medicare benefits are kept constant
- Prescription drug costs will decrease because of the elimination of the “gap in payment that currently exists under Medicare Part D
- You have the right to keep your employer’s coverage
Here are some links to more information regarding the Affordable Care Act and its implications regarding your taxes:
Report Life Changes to the Marketplace After You Enroll in Coverage
My Tax Checklist