How Health Care Reform Will Affect You

We’ve all heard about the passing of the historic health care reform in early 2010, but it’s still unclear to most Americans what these changes will actually mean. If you’re unclear about how the new health care plan will affect you, here are a few important provisions that will be affective beginning 2010:

·         Young adults up to the age of 26 who were worried about being uninsured will be allowed to stay on their parents’ health insurance policy.

·         Individuals previously denied medical insurance due to pre-existing medical conditions will be eligible for the new "high-risk" insurance program funded by the federal government.

·         Small businesses plagued with insurance expenses may qualify for new tax credits of up to 35% of the cost of premiums.

·         Insurance policies will no longer include lifetime caps on health coverage, and providers will no longer cancel policies if a patient gets sick.

·         Children with pre-existing conditions will not be excluded from health coverage.

In addition to these provisions, more changes will occur in 2014 when the reform takes full effect. Federally funded policies will be available to individuals who have not yet gotten coverage. Medicaid will be expanded. All individuals with pre-existing conditions will be granted access to health care.