msnbc answers your obamacare questions - tablets you can draw on

The Affordable Care Act will reach two major milestones this week and next week.
March 23 is the four years that the law came into effect, Monday, March 31, six months since the opening of the new health insurance market in all 50 states.
With some exceptions, all Americans are required by law to have health insurance by that date.
What does the Affordable Care Act mean to you?
What aspects of it still make you worried or confused?
As part of the countdown to msnbc March 31, National Health Reporter Jeffrey Cowley answered your questions posted on msnbc.
Com and Facebook
Here's his answer around four aspects of Obamacare: rationale, terms, tasks, and deadlines.
What's great about the Affordable Health Care Bill? Mr.
Picatini: Jeffrey, have you personally participated in Obamacare?
No, I was lucky to have an employer who sponsored and subsidized my health insurance.
The Affordable Health Care Bill is designed to help people buy insurance on their own.
Until recently, insurance companies have screened potential health needs and imposed penalties or exclusions on anyone who may need care.
The Affordable Health Care Act prohibits discrimination and uses tax credits to subsidize the insurance of people with low incomes. Thomas W.
Sandoz III: I don't understand what's wrong with Obamacare.
As far as I know, this will reduce the cost of medical care and make it affordable for all.
Republicans are working hard to repeal the bill.
What is good for them?
What is the benefit of abolishing the bill to the public?
I'm not asking this to be a partisan fight.
I ask because I don't see any harm in a better situation.
Please to non-
A partisan attitude that helps me understand.
I'm the same with your confusion.
Obamacare is based on Republican ideas that have been driven by the traditional foundation, which was first proposed in Massachusetts under the leadership of Governor Mitt Romney.
The law is-
Profit insurance is the core of China's medical insurance system, which relies on market competition to control costs.
We don't know how it works yet, but no one denies that the old system is unsustainable.
The main opposition on the right is focused on government spending (
Expanding safety net through Medicaid and tax credits)
And government authorization (
Health insurance is required).
Honest people can vary according to the merits of these policies.
But instead of defending a credible alternative, Mr Obama's opponents remain largely in attack mode, using fear and chaos to fuel public resistance to the law.
I think this resistance will diminish as more than 40 million of the uninsured population enjoy affordable health care.
Who gets insurance? WHO GETS HELP?
As originally signed into law four years ago, the Affordable Care Act will create a seamless safety net that will provide varying degrees of assistance to people earning up to four times the federal poverty rate (
$46,680 for individuals and $95,400 for families of four).
The law expands Medicaid and provides comprehensive insurance for people who earn less than 139% of their poor wages (
$16,105 for individuals and $23,850 for families of four).
It provides subsidies in the form of tax credits to help those who earn one to four times as much as their poor wages buy private insurance through the new medical insurance exchange.
The law actually expanded the Medicaid program in 27 states at federal expense (
Below is a list of extended States).
But since the Supreme Court's 2012 ruling enabled states to opt out of the expansion of Medicaid programs, more than 20 of them did --
Put billions of federal dollars on the table and keep it low at 5 million.
The income earners are not eligible for any form of assistance at all.
In most states, Medicaid has covered children living below 200% of poverty levels.
It also covers adults with disabilities.
But traditionally, it excludes most of the non-
Adults with disabilities, no matter how poor they are, no matter how hard they work. In the non-
Expanding states, these people are now living in a coverage gap.
It is too rich for traditional Medicaid, but it is too poor for subsidy coverage in the market.
Several issues in this section come from people in this situation.
I just got a job.
Earn $900 a month.
What is my choice?
Your annual income ($10,800)
Just below the level of federal poverty (
$11,670 for individuals).
If you live in one of the 26 states that expand Medicaid, you will be eligible for full coverage.
If not, you will have to give up health insurance unless you can pay the full cost of the market plan.
Walter Sheppard: My daughter works at a Hadi department store in western North Carolina.
She has two children and earns $7. 50 an hour.
Hades does not allow her more than 26 hours a week.
They said they could not give her 40 hours because of the affordable medical bill.
Not only can she not afford insurance, but she may also be fined for getting only 26 hours a week.
How is this reasonable?
If your daughter is the only one of three to support the family
Her children will have easy access to Medicaid.
But parents must live below 46% of the poverty level (
A family of three is about $9,000 a year)
Get Medicaid in North Carolina.
Your daughter's annual income ($10,140)
She will be disqualified.
Because she lives below the federal poverty line.
$19,790 family of three)
She is also not qualified to get help in the market.
Lawmakers in North Carolina can help her by expanding the Medicaid program through federal spending.
Congress can help her by expanding the market subsidies to low subsidies. income people.
Her employer can help her by sponsoring her health insurance.
Starting 2016, the Affordable Care Act will require big companies to sponsor all of their full health insurancetime workers.
She clearly wished to minimize that obligation.
Smith: I was told that my income was too small to qualify for financial assistance in the health insurance market.
I live on Social Security. the amount of social security this year is about $12,000.
I am called Medicaid in North Carolina, but I am not eligible because there is no expanded Medicaid program in the state.
I received a letter from the government saying that I would not be fined for not having insurance.
However, no one told me of any options for getting affordable insurance.
Do you know I have any other options? Thank you.
If you live alone, you should be eligible for financial assistance in the market because of your annual income ($12,000)
Between 100% and 400% of federal poverty levels (
$11,670 to $46,680 for individuals).
Here is a simple chart that you can use to check your eligibility and here is an interactive subsidy calculator.
If your income is below $11,670 and puts you in the insurance gap, you will receive a difficult exemption from the federal purchase of insurance.
As explained by the government in the letter you received, if "you are determined not to qualify for Medicaid, because your state is not eligible to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, there is no penalty without insurance.
Robert Miffy: Is it true because Republicans in Missouri's legislature and state Senate have blocked the expansion of Medicaid?
Will the income missus be ineligible for a federal tax credit to help pay Obamacare premiums?
No, that's not true.
All states have market subsidies, even those that do not extend their Medicaid. John-
2828835: I am 62 years old. so far, I am still in good shape.
I haven't been insured for years, but I support ACA and will sign up if I can.
My question is, where is it and how portable is it?
I asked because I spent 2012 in China and now I live in Panama.
I will be back in the US in a few months, but have not yet determined where it is.
I prefer the weather in the South, but there is generally no ACA in the South.
How important is this, where do I live and where do I register? As a U. S.
Citizens living abroad, you can be free from health
Insurance tasks.
When you move back to the US, you have to get insurance within 60 days to avoid tax penalties.
If you plan to buy insurance through the market, you don't need to worry about settling in the South.
Many Southern states refuse to expand Medicaid, but each has a health insurance exchange.
Although insurance prices vary from region to region, federal financial aid is available in every state.
Sarah Jorgenson from Facebook: can you use your Obamacare coverage across states?
In an emergency, yes.
If you buy a market health plan in New York and get hit by a car in Florida, your insurance company can't punish you for going to a hospital outside the network. But for non-
In an emergency, you will want to continue using the network of providers you plan to use.
If you buy insurance in New York but spend half a year in Florida, you should buy a plan with a network of doctors and hospitals in Florida.
Tony Adams from Facebook: I am a veteran with a disability rating of only 60% and do not include vision or dentistry at all.
Also, I never went to see a doctor as often as I needed it.
So the real question is: can I add ACA without destroying my VA healthcare?
I almost dare not ask online!
Don't worry, Tony.
You can supplement your VA health insurance without taking the risk of fines.
VA healthcare is eligible as minimum basic insurance so you don't need to add (
If you do, you are not eligible for a subsidy).
But additional insurance will not affect your VA benefits.
As VA explains in this online fact sheet, "you can continue to use VA to meet all your healthcare needs, or supplement your VA care with insurance from private health insurance or other federal health care programs (including health insurance, Medicaid, and TRICARE.
"The VA has a helpline if you need more information: 877-222-8387. DR.
My wife and I are disabled.
She's 3 years, I'm 1-and-a-half.
Why do the government think we are rich?
We live with a disability and pay me $500 a month.
I won't be able to get medical insurance until 2015, and if I can't get it soon, I will die from stage 3 kidney disease and heart disease.
Why do the government think I'm rich and why do I die? Explain this.
The government refuses to explain why it wants you to die, but you can frustrate the plot by registering a Medicaid.
In most states, Medicaid is automatically available to those who receive federal disability benefits.
Some states require separate Medicaid applications, but you should not be eligible in any state.
Here are some additional background on Medicaid for the disabled. G.
Bud: where do these sources fall when determining what is eligible income?
First, SSI disability insurance. Second, long-
If you have paid a premium for this in your past work, the private insurance company will pay a regular disability payment.
Any taxable income will be counted when you apply for financial assistance. SSI (
Supplementary security income)
No tax, so it will not affect your qualifications. Some long-
The disability allowance is taxable and some are non-taxable.
As Ameriprise Financial explains in this fact sheet, it depends on (a)
What kind of benefits do you get ,(b)
Whether the premium is paid before or after tax-
Tax dollars, and (c)
Who paid the premium (
You or your employer).
Parky1111: there are strict restrictions on women's health legislation in some states.
Does ACA help women in these states improve health care?
Yes, the Affordable Health Care Act does a lot of work to improve women's health care.
Whether they live in Massachusetts or Mississippi, women now pay the same insurance fees as men (
They paid more in the past).
A private health plan must now cover a range of preventive services, such as screening tests and family planning, without the need to pay fees or deductibles.
Unfortunately, born
The control task is still under legal attack (
The Supreme Court will hear this week).
The ACA explicitly allows states to ban abortion insurance in private health plans sold through the exchange. Twenty-
Four countries have now imposed these bans.
Here's a complete rundown)
Nine companies went even further and banned any private insurance company from covering abortion.
How does the task work?
Tim Confield of Facebook: when young and healthy people are unlikely to need insurance, why would the government want them to sign up for expensive insurance?
Most of us need expensive medical treatment sooner or later, and few of us have cash on hand to pay directly.
Focus our risks and resourcesi. e.
Buy insurance-
We all have a sense of security.
When we are healthy, we pay to go to the pool so that we can draw from the pool when we are not healthy.
If only patients and injured people buy insurance, it will cost too much to protect anyone.
That's why healthy young people need to sign up for health insurance: they will soon become younger and less healthy.
This is the actual answer to your question, but there is also a moral answer.
In any case, the community will bear the medical expenses that people cannot pay.
When people refuse to buy insurance that they can afford, they don't just risk their own financial security.
They raised the cost of medical care for the rest of us.
ToddHoward: I have a question about the type of insurance required to comply with the law.
There are several different types of medical insurance.
Does a person have to have full coverage including doctor visits, specialists, hospitals and prescriptions?
The Affordable Care Act requires you to receive minimum basic insurance unless you are eligible for an exemption.
Any policy you get through your job or personal market will meet the criteria.
The same is true for medical insurance, Medicaid, and chips (for children)or TRICARE (for veterans).
10 basic health benefits will be covered by any eligible program-
Such as preventive health care, inpatient treatment, prescription drugs and mental illnessHealth Services-
But these plans are very different in terms of cost and coverage.
The policies sold through the exchange are divided into four basic categories: bronze, silver, gold and platinum.
Platinum plan has the highest monthly premium and the lowest foreign premiumof-pocket costs.
Bronze plans to spend less per month, but they have a higher number of copies and deductibles (
Personal plans up to $6,350 and family plans up to $12,700).
John aping: I read a few weeks ago that there was
The personal task of "difficult situation" was postponed for one year.
"Now, I hear there is no delay.
What's going on with this?
The Affordable Care Act exempts some people from the task of buying health insurance.
What you read about a so-
Known as a hardship exemption, it covers issues such as bankruptcy, deportation and homelessness.
Last year, in the face of a rebound in the cancellation of substandard medical plans, the Obama administration created temporary hardship exemptions for those who lost their old plans.
The government has now extended this gesture until 2016.
If "you are notified that your current health insurance plan has been canceled and you do not think that other plans can afford it, you can apply for a hardship exemption.
The government will also consider the request of anyone who "has experienced another difficulty in obtaining medical insurance. ”VIVIAN HUNT-
4067049: My daughter lives in Georgia.
She registered with ACA and many of my doctors turned her down.
They do not receive medical cards;
Doctors choose to give up any health care related to ACA, so how can we fix this?
Are we paying for something we can't use?
The provider network is the reality of private health insurance.
No matter where your plan is
By exchange, by your work or by yourself
If you accept more restrictions on the choice of doctors and hospitals, you will pay less.
Many lower ones
The cost plan for the insurance exchange maintains a narrow network of providers to reduce prices and some doctors avoid lower prices
Because they don't pay for insurance either.
But even the lowest.
The cost health program has doctors and hospitals involved.
Your daughter should call her insurance company and ask for a list of suppliers for the insurance company.
Can also buy online.
When should I sign up?
Bobbyones123: I'm curious about the special enrollment period after the deadline of March 31.
Is it true that if a person moves to a new state they can register during this time (
Special enrollment period)?
Just wondering because I will most likely be in the next 2-
3 months and I don't want to sign up and cancel for re-registration.
You're lucky, Bobby Jones.
If you wait until you move to the store to buy insurance, you have to pay a small amount of shared liability.
But there is no need to wait.
You can now register insurance in the state you are going to and postpone it for a few months.
As long as you sign up before March 31, you will not be punished for the period from now until the time you move.
The fine of waiting will not be very large (just one-
12 of the annual fines you do not have insurance each month)
, But you can avoid fines by registering a plan this week.
Here are some additional details on how to avoid penalties.
BumbleBeeThree: I am currently insured for my husband's job until he retires in June 30.
Can I wait for the signature?
Then register via ACA, or do I need to register by March 31?
You don't have to sign up this week.
When your husband retires, you will have two months to look for new insurance.
If you want the new insurance to start at the end of his June 30, you should register a few weeks in advance.
But as long as you register at 60
Special enrollment period (
June 30-8-29)
You won't be punished. Mike Scott-
7927496: I would like to keep COBRA through my previous employer.
If by the end of October I have not found a job with benefits, I will not be able to get insurance until the next open registration period, and I have to go for a month without insurance.
Why do they even have an open registration period in ACA?
Why can't you get insurance at any time?
The end of your COBRA coverage will immediately trigger 60-
Special enrollment period (
October 31-12 -september 30)
So you don't have to wait for the next open registration period (
November 15-20, 2014-February 15)
Find a new health plan
As for your second question: Medicaid and chips do accept new applicants
Round, but both inside and outside the new exchange, the annual registration period is the norm for private insurance. ChrisBG:As a (not legally)
Separate people, how can I get a discount if my health insurance is about to expireto-be-ex-
Too much money for spouses?
There is no legal separation in Florida, and the $382 Humana plan is too expensive without other income.
Is this possible, or do I have to stay uninsured before divorce?
Your Divorce will open up a special registration period, giving you 60 days to explore your insurance options and apply for financial assistance.
Your separation may not be a qualifying life event while you are still legally married, but you should ask a lawyer or pilot to confirm.
This is an app you can use to find local help.