While thirty-six states have signed on to challenge the constitutionality of America's new healthcare law and Etna's (one for-profit health insurance company's) CEO gets multi-million dollar yearly raises from unprecedented profits, it's easy to get distracted from the benefits of the new law health care law dubbed, "The Affordable Care Act."
Remember, this law has been put in place to benefit us and it's time to use it for what it's worth. It's time to vote with our actions and dollars. Here are some quick steps to take advantage, thanks to new benefits made available by the landmark Affordable Care Act:
1. Pick up the phone and schedule a free annual exam, and routine preventive tests for your age group (such as mammograms and colonoscopies). Under the ACA, preventive care is now free of charge or soon will be, without co-pays or deductibles. If you're on Medicare, these services were free as of Jan. 1. If you have private health insurance, they're either free now, or will be free at the start of your new health plan year. Check out more standard preventive services.
2. Insure yourself and all family members. Everyone is now eligible for health insurance. Having a pre-existing condition is no longer an excuse for insurance companies to deny coverage (can you believe how long our health care system has tried to exclude the sick?). If you have children under age 26, you can now insure them under your own plan. Your state should now offer a Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, and if it doesn't, you can use the federal government's "PCIP." Check out healthcare.gov for options.
3. Log onto Healthcare.gov and get informed about the ACA, health insurance options, your health care rights and quality comparisons of your own local hospitals.
4. Appeal the unfair decisions of your insurance company. Under the ACA, it's now illegal for health insurance companies to deny or cancel coverage, but they can still legally deny care. The ACA gives us new ways to appeal where before a complaint meant denial of coverage and care. Again, check out your options and take a sign of relief, you now have a safety net.
5. Consider going shopping. The ACA has made insurance more available on the open market. By choosing our health insurance carefully, we the people will determine which insurance companies survive, and which go out of business. Because the ACA leaves health insurance and health care in the free market, our choices help shape the future of American health care companies.
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