Health Care Public Option- What’s In It For You?
A great deal of debate currently surrounds the proposed Obama health care reform package. In particular, individuals are concerned/interested in the public option. What exactly is its purpose? If passed, how will the public option directly impact individuals?
Here are a few of the intended consumer health protections included within the Obama plan:
- No discrimination for individuals with pre-existing conditions. Millions of Americans are excluded from health insurance due to pre-existing conditions. As the population continues to age and as workers continue to switch employers more frequently, pre-existing coverage has become more of a concern.
- Reduced out-of-pocket expenses, including deductibles and co-payments, making not only health insurance more affordable, but health and medical treatments. Insurance companies will be required to abide by a pre-determined annual maximum on the amount charged to an individual in out-of-pocket expenses.
- Increased focus on preventative care achieved through no-cost sharing for individuals seeking this type of medical treatment. Examples of preventative care could include annual pap-smears, mammograms, flu shots, annual exams or physicals and tests designed to prevent illnesses.
- Individuals deemed ‘seriously ill’ will not be able to be dropped by their current insurance carrier for this reason.
- Insurance companies will be unable to discriminate against insured based upon their gender.
- To ensure individuals will have access to quality health care for their entire life, lifetime maximums or caps currently on many policies will be removed or prohibited moving forward.
- To ensure that children and college students retain coverage, the age in which coverage can continue to have eligibility under their parents’ health insurance will be extended to 26.
- Health insurance will be offered as guaranteed renewable, allowing individuals to retain their coverage indefinitely as long as they continue to pay the associated premium.
While anything new often seems challenging to understand or grasp for many, the overall intended purpose of the Obama plan is to improve the accessibility and quality of health care in the U.S. Like any major change, an adjustment period will be required. As you can see from the above suggested changes, no matter what your age or health status, health insurance should become more attainable, and with the renewability options, sustainable for the majority of Americans.
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