The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that all qualified health insurance plans (except grandfathered plans purchased prior to March 23, 2010 and still in place) include coverage for ten essential health benefits. That does not mean these medical services are necessarily free, merely that your health insurance will cover some or all of the cost. But certain preventive services are free. This means your health insurance must cover 100% of
Metal Plans Under the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created four new designs for health insurance policies. You may have heard policies referred to as “metal plans.” This is because each design is named after a metal: Bronze | Silver | Gold | Platinum The four metal plans are distinguished from one another by their actuarial value. Actuarial value (AV) is the average amount of covered health care expenses that will be paid for
More on Pediatric Dental Essential Health Benefit
We recently received a well-written brochure about the Pediatric Dental Essential Health Benefit (EHB) — Click here. Although the guide was produced by United Health Care (UHC) and we write dental and health insurance policies with many other carriers, it contains some really useful information about how the pediatric dental EHB will work in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We have put up UHC’s guide under our Free
Pediatric Dental Benefit in Virginia under Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires health insurance plans to cover ten essential health benefits (EHB). One such EHB is pediatric dental care. It sounds simple enough: “pediatric dental care” means providing oral health care for children. But it turns out there are many questions — and few concrete answers — about exactly how the pediatric dental EHB will work in Virginia. Here is some of what we do know:
Understanding Health Insurance Plans – before and after Affordable Care Act
What are the differences between grandfathered plans, non-grandfathered plans, and new plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? Here is a helpful chart with some of the key points. Grandfathered Plans (purchased before 3/23/2010 and still active) Non-Grandfathered Plans (purchased 3/23/2010 or later and active prior to 1/1/14) New Plans Effective in 2014 Annual Coverage Limits Annual dollar limits on coverage are ok Not allowed Not allowed Lifetime Coverage Limits
Policies Sold in the Health Care Exchanges May Offer Fewer Providers
Mandatory health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for most Americans starting on January 1, 2014 will cause a flood into the market of previously-uninsured individuals and those needing to get new coverage. Coupled with the fact that insurance plans will be required to cover a comprehensive list of essential health benefits, insurance companies and government officials are trying to find ways to hold down medical costs. Renegotiating
Essential Health Benefits under Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Beginning in January of 2014, health insurance plans must include items and services in the following 10 categories, known as essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA): Ambulatory patient services Emergency services Hospitalization Maternity and newborn care Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment Prescription drugs Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices Laboratory services Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management Pediatric services,
